« We continue to think about it. As soon as it rains, I worry about the watercourse. There is a fear that is always there “. If for some, May is already far away, Philippe Schutz remembers May 17, 18, and 19, 2024 very well. The mayor of Boulay-Moselle was with his municipal teams on the front to fight against the floods. “ We had already had floods in the town in the 1980s. But on such a scale, it's unheard of “. His counterpart from Bouzonville, Armel Chabane, remembers being “ surprised » by “ alerts that only arrived in trickles “. Very quickly, a mission was imposed on the elected officials, quickly joined by the technical staff, but also the firefighters and the gendarmerie: “ It was necessary to secure all the people, particularly on the floors for those who could, to keep a close eye on the situation hour by hour, minute by minute.continues Armel Chabane. We had to make sure the children could go home. We had a school group coming back from London. For two days, Bouzonville was a mini-island, with only one possible access into the city ».
Several hundred thousand euros in damage
A mission all the more delicate as the Bouzonville fire station, located next to Ohligbach, has “ had to be evacuated and an operational center was set up from scratch at the school “. At the height of the rising waters, the town had between 1.50 and two meters of water. For Armel Chabane as for Philippe Schutz, a victory: not having to deplore any injuries or victims. There remains damage which still leaves traces in Boulay and Bouzonville. “ These floods cost several hundred thousand euros. There is the 70,000 euros to rehabilitate the town hall archives, 40,000 euros for IT, 100,000 euros for the boiler room… We will have to redo the flooring in the municipal council room. There is a part that I will have to bear, not everything will be covered by insurance », Estime Philippe Schutz. « Between the roads, the extracurriculars, the fire station and the association center, we are at around 200,000 euros of damage to public buildings.adds Armel Chabane. And on the private park, between 60 and 100 houses were affected ».
For the inhabitants of the two Moselle communes, then came the time for administrative matters: “ It takes a long timeregrets the mayor of Bouzonville. We must take into account the passage of the expert, the time of reimbursement… Waiting often leads to uncertainty, the uncertainty of anxiety, and anxiety, sometimes, anger. We wrote two letters to residents, in May and September, to tell them that municipal services are listening to them. We don't let go of them, and above all we don't forget them “. The councilor of Boulay adds: “ Faced with an exceptional situation, you do not always have the necessary references. We tell you that you must not throw away, that you must keep the quotes, a certificate of irreparability. The more administrative exchanges there are, the longer it takes, the more discouraged we become ».
And now ?
All that remains now is to adopt a risk culture. “ Are floods preventable? I don't know, but can we better prevent them, and better cure them, in response and reaction? It's possible », says the mayor of Bouzonville, who launched a municipal protection plan, currently being developed. “ This shows the fragility of the municipality in the face of natural events. But in this context of climate uncertainty, we must move forward. And above all, ensure that all those involved in the field work together. Elected officials are contacted at the local level, and that is normal, but the solution must come from a collegial response. It will be necessary to go through the installation of cofferdams, capping basins, development of the ford to allow preferential flow… This is a subject which may seem complex. But in reality, the hardest part is getting everyone around the table. », added Philippe Schutz.
