Red warning, Friday October 18… The storm seemed to be behind. However, suddenly, without warning, the Magnan swelled and swelled. Water and mud rose to the doors of houses in the upper part of the La Madeleine district in western Nice. Emergency evacuations, no casualties, but a new scare for local residents. And anger: “Every time it rains, we have a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads!”.
Everyone remembers the floods of 2014. And the fear in their stomachs every time the sky rumbles. Fear of losing one of their own, fear of losing everything. Today, they blame the public authorities: “The State does nothing, it’s a shame!”. And ask questions. The answers from Gaël Nofri, deputy of Christian Estrosi, delegate to the Collines Nice, who manages this file.
1. How is Magnan monitored?
This river, which has its source in Aspremont before flowing into the sea near the Palais de l’agriculture, is free on its upper part, then tanked and underground for the last few kilometers. The risk of flooding therefore concerns the upper part of the watercourse, above the Nicolaï stadium.
During each weather episode, the rise in water levels is closely monitored, assures Gaël Nofri. “We carry out surveys by probes and we have three camera points”.
2. Have the recent bad weather caused any damage?
Metropolitan services were on site on Saturday to observe. “There are places where we have concerns. A certain number of banks are weakened, in particular the walls at the very top of the Madeleine Supérieure. There are preventive interventions to be carried out”continues Christian Estrosi’s deputy.
3. Who should provide maintenance?
It’s technical: “The banks must be maintained by their owners.” Thus, cleaning the banks, which adjoin homes and private plots, is the responsibility of local residents. Those bordering Boulevard de La Madeleine and public plots are the responsibility of the City. Same rule for cleaning: “Each owner – private or community – must dredge half of the river in line with their plot.”
4. Is everyone playing the game?
Gaël Nofri regrets: “A number of owners are defaulting.” And then, incivism is important: “We recently found Christmas decorations in Magnan” and much larger waste (engines, rubble, etc.). So many logjams and obstacles to the flow of water in bad weather.
4. Why did Christian Estrosi blame the State?
“We asked to be able to clean the Magnan at the expense of the Metropolis. With the services, we have been working on it since the beginning of the year. But this is only possible with the green light from the prefecture. We must go through a declaration of general interest, obtain a prefectural decree It is a very long procedure. This should be done intelligently, efficiently, and this is not the case. deplores the Nice elected official.
Who hopes for an outcome: “The mayor announced that he was going to discuss with the departmental director of territories and the sea (DDTM) and the prefect. I do not doubt the will of everyone. The emergency is characterized. The weather episodes will be more and more more frequent and more and more intense…”
