LThe bad weather that occurred this Saturday is causing damage in the South-West. In Lourdes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, the sanctuary was partially flooded. The cave, the main sector of the sanctuary affected, had to be closed. The Aspe Valley, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, is also affected by significant flooding. These two departments have been on flood watch since Friday evening but the water level was starting to recede on Saturday afternoon.
The cave was partly filled during the night around 2am by the flooding of the Gave de Pau, a nearby river that crosses the city, according to David Torchala, the sanctuary’s communications director. “The water rose very quickly during the night,” he said, adding that “there were no injuries” or emergency services.
The Chapel of Lights on the sanctuary was also flooded during the night and the damage cannot yet be estimated. The rest of the sanctuary is still open to the public and pilgrims are present on site, while the celebrations planned in the grotto have been postponed. The Lourdes town hall announced in a press release on Saturday morning “a very high level” of the Gave de Pau before indicating a “recession started”.
Power cuts for 800 people
The Hautes-Pyrénées prefecture described in a press release issued early this afternoon “a heavy rainy episode” which occurred last night, leading to “a significant increase in […] Read more
