The Ardèche department was placed on orange alert for “rain-flood” and on yellow alert for “floods” this Wednesday, October 16. The Tunnels campsite, in Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, is preparing for the Cévennes episode which arrives during the night.
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Ardèche was on orange alert last week for “rain-flooding”, eight days later the department was placed on alert again. Patrick Bourdeaux, manager of the Tunnels campsite in Vallon-Pont-d’Arc (Ardèche) is now well versed. This year, his establishment experienced five floods, never seen before: “Last week, the flood rose to more than five meters. It will be the sixth, this evening, if there is one, it’s exceptional, it’s been a very long time since that happened, it’s is a record”he confides. “Normally, it’s one or two floods per year, no more”.
In view of the Cévennes episode which begins tonight and which should last two days, the owner of the Ardèche campsite has prepared well: “Four sites below the risk of flooding, seven meters away, were evacuated this morning, as soon as the vigilance was announced, I no longer have anyone in the flood zone, the most important thing is safety,” he says. “However, there are still customers in two mobile homes, which are 12 meters away, there is little risk, we have time to see what is coming and to evacuate quickly if something happens”.
Until Friday, the manager is no longer accepting customers: “I refuse everyone but I try to redirect them to the Vieux Vallon campsite, which is our neighbor, it is not in a flood zone, it can accommodate people. We often work together,” he explains. Depending on the weather conditions, he will decide whether or not to take back customers: “As soon as it calms down, I will be able to welcome customers again. The All Saints’ Day holidays start this weekend so I have some reservations for next week, I hope the bad weather will calm down by then”.
Patrick Bourdeaux remains on the lookout for storm forecasts to anticipate possible rising water levels in Chassezac and Ardèche.
