“It was just raining and suddenly I heard screaming outside, I went out and saw a torrent coming”says Philippe Maisonnette, host of Chérie FM radio, whose premises are located in the center of Annonay, a town in Ardèche particularly affected.
“At that point we can no longer do anything except caulk everything we can, but the water still passes”he describes.
In this small town, crossed by two rivers, the waters rose suddenly when the Ternay dam, to the north, overflowed.
Fred Valery, manager of a restaurant located in the basement, had never seen this. “There, the restaurant is full to the ceiling”he describes from the central square, where local residents observe the scene stunned.
“In a few minutes”
The surrounding schools and nurseries were evacuated, secondary school students confined in safety, according to the town hall. “As the situation is evolving more quickly than expected, it is imperative to stay at home.”
About ten kilometers away, the Deûme river also overflowed “in a few minutes”relates Mathias, teacher in a primary school. “We confine the children for the day, to prevent parents from finding themselves stranded on the roads.”
And “widespread Cévennes episode” donne “exceptional rainfall accumulations, mainly on the Ardèche terrain”notes Météo-France, emphasizing that up to 630 mm of rain is expected locally in 48 hours.
“More generally, a vast disturbance is coming up from the south”continues the organization. In addition to the six departments on red alert, 19 are on orange alert for rain-floods, floods and thunderstorms.
In the Rhône, the Gier, a river south of Lyon, overflowed at the town of Givors. Samuel Barataud, 25 years old, salesman in a business near the river explains that “everything is blocked” around. “The sidewalks are invisible, the water is up to your knees”he describes by telephone.
Emergency services evacuated 180 residents of the Cornets district, threatened by the waters, and two reception centers were opened in the neighboring town of Grigny, according to the prefecture.
The A47 motorway, which passes nearby, was flooded, leading to its closure between Lyon and Saint-Etienne and rail traffic between the two cities was also suspended.
Livestock taken away
In Haute-Loire, the “concern mainly concerns the Lignon” more “the Loire has also gone into red alert”indicated prefect Yvan Cordier.
In Chambon-sur-Lignon, the college near the river was closed and the college students were picked up at the station, he said.
Schools were also evacuated, some houses were flooded and livestock were swept away, said Mayor Jean-Michel Eyraud.
“It’s catastrophic, we haven’t seen this since 1978”says Laurent Raynaud, restaurateur, who sees the water arriving at the foot of his establishment. “We saw a tractor tipper, a car, trees pass by. Many houses are flooded in the lower part of the village, the college and the campsite…”
“There are no casualties so far but we remain very vigilant”specifies the prefect of Haute-Loire, who preventively called for a helicopter and a column of 80 firefighters.
In Ardèche, firefighters, supported by colleagues from other departments, carried out more than 230 interventions, following flooding, exhaustion or to rescue 110 people, some of whom were evacuated by helicopter.
Several roads were closed due to flooding or landslides, according to the prefecture which decided to close schools on Thursday and Friday, on the eve of the All Saints’ Day holidays.
