Six months after the floods in their village, the inhabitants of this town are still waiting: “we have been abandoned”

The floods of June 2024 are still on the minds of the inhabitants of Poissons (Haute-Marne). Nearly six months after the events, not everyone has yet found their homes and some are not close to seeing the end. A situation which weighs heavily on this small village and which does not give prospects to certain inhabitants.

This commune in Haute-Marne was invaded by the waves last June. Large mudslides took place in Poissons (Haute-Marne), on the night of June 29 to 30, 2024. The residents, the members of the municipal council, but also the professionals of the municipality had never seen this since their arrival in this village.

The town's two rivers, the Rongeant and the Rissancelle (tributaries of the Marne) had burst their banks. Six months later, where are the residents? What about renovations? According to the mayor of Poissons (commune placed in a state of natural disaster), Bernard Adam, everything is not yet back to normal, even if some residents are doing better than others.

In this town of just over 600 inhabitants, the floods were the biggest disaster ever experienced. Around sixty houses were caught in the floods, including twelve which have so far been defined as uninhabitable.

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“For the moment, we have consolidated the bridges, we are renovating gradually. Our village hall has been affected, as has the multi-service area which should reopen on December 27. For residents, the cases are different Today, the situation is starting to improve, but it is not over.explains the first city councilor.

For this couple of residents of the town, the situation was complicated from the start. “In July, just after the floods, we lost everything. No more house, no more car, no more nothing. But our insurance did the job and went pretty quickly. At 1^is November, we had a roof, but we preferred not to return to our house, it will be sold in the state in which we found it after the floods”explains a resident.

We had this house for a long time, since we lost everything, it's a new start.

“Today, we see, some victims are not moving forward. It's a bit of an obstacle course. We had this house for a long time, since we lost everything, it's a new beginning”he explains. In Pisces, not everyone was so lucky. Some have still not obtained the coveted compensation. They lived with relatives, in a hotel, but still can't see the end.

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For Bernard Adam, the mayor, “some people will see the results arrive during 2025”almost a year after the events. A situation which for the inhabitants of Pisces is not viable over time.

During this night which took away a large part of the lives of the inhabitants of Pisces, some still cannot recover. One of the residents of Rue Neuve still thinks about it very often. With his concubine, they took the full brunt of the floods at the end of June.

Psychologically, getting over it is a difficult ordeal.

A Pisces inhabitant

Resident of rue Neuve

“We lost everything, we've been living with my son since July. It's not easy every day, we've gone through different stages. It's the bad part of our life, I've been in depression because of that, psychologically, getting over it is a difficult ordeal”affirms this Haut-Marnais.

For this couple who has lived in Pisces for 20 years, the insurance companies did not do their job. “We were abandoned for six months. We trusted them, but it was a real standoff. Everything was devastated, we had nothing left, but even with that, many things were not considered “. Now the couple sees the light at the end of the tunnel. The insurance companies have finally reacted and work on their home begins in mid-January.

We only had that in our life. All our memories have gone up in smoke.

A Pisces inhabitant

Resident of rue Neuve

A relief for them, who despite this good news, are still struggling to raise their heads. “That's all we had in our lives. All our memories have gone up in smoke. As soon as we see that the weather won't be good, or that a storm is brewing, we're afraid. It's an evil that will go away with it. time, but at the moment everything is complicated”he explains.

The commune of Poissons is still healing its wounds. Among the residents, this evening of June 29, 2024 will forever be imprinted in their memory. Although improvements are coming to the properties of some of the residents, not all are out of the woods yet. For other Picheneilles (residents of Poissons) waiting is still obligatory, their compensation and work on their houses not yet being on the agenda.