The Gard has just spent a third night in the rain, particularly in the Cévennes. Between 600 and 750 mm of rain fell in 48 hours in our region according to Météo France. The Gard remains orange for rain and flooding. Jean Christian Rey, President of the Gard Rhone agglomeration community, stayed up all night to monitor the situation in his sector; the Rhône has risen very high, fed in particular by the Ardèche (river where the department has been placed on red alert since Thursday). “It was calm, we stayed up all night to monitor waterways. Almost everything is in decline now. We are starting to feel relieved,” he confides. at 6 a.m. this Friday morning live on France Bleu Gard Lozère.
“We had a very very high Ardèche, a Cèze at more than 6 meters today. We have been in decline for a few minutes in Bagnols-sur-Cèze and Codolet. Records? I don’t know. But on the high which feeds our rivers, we had 600 mm, or even more, so that is still very rare. When it falls to this level over 36 hours, 24 to 36 hours, you have. the feeling that buckets of water are being thrown in your face“.
Drinking water? “The morning will be devoted to it. We have water towers, finally boreholes which were flooded. Some boreholes are cut off. For the moment, we are supplying with the reserves we have on the water towers. We started testing the pumps and the water quality, to put them back into service. In some places, drilling has not been restored. So we will put them back during the day, or we will distribute bottles of water.”
Julien Dupont
Antoine Dussuchale, forecaster in Vigicrues, was live on France Bleu Gard Lozère at 6:30 a.m.: the main rivers, particularly those flowing down from the Cévennes, have fallen back to more conventional levels. We have experienced moderate flooding in the department kept this Thursday on these rivers. On the other hand, the Rhône is experiencing a slightly more pronounced flood, with overflows observed locallybut which remain within the classic flood ranges for the season, which are frequently observed; it still deserves special monitoring on Friday.”
A Holy Spirit Bridge, several residents were rescued because of the rapid rise of the Rhône. 5 people of Romanian origin were rescued after being trapped in their vehicle, 8 were trapped in houses as well as a homeless person trapped under a bridge.
25 departmental roads are cut off in the Gard this Friday morning
The receding is announced, stay vigilant if you take the road.
Lozère in yellow for floods
In Lozère, the lights are red. The department is still on maximum vigilance for floods. HAS Langognethe two roads in the industrial zone were flooded this Thursday evening, and closed, the Abattoirs district is closed to traffic. Further south, in La bastide Puylaurent or even Villefort, some residents and traders have their feet in the water.
The holidays will start a little earlier for some students from Gard and Lozère. School transport, like Thursday, is suspended in particular in the Aigoual, Pays Viganais and Alès sectors. In Lozère, 3 colleges are closed: in Villefort, Saint Etienne Vallée Française and Collet de Dèze; primary schools as well. There full list can be found here.
Reminder of behaviors to adopt in the event of bad weather: Do not cross waterways. Be careful if you travel near watercourses. Roads closed to traffic are also prohibited to pedestrian traffic.
Developments to follow on: www.inforoute.gard.fr Twitter : @InfoRouteGard
