in La Ferté-Gaucher, “we no longer sleep when we know that the water is going to rise”

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The nightmare repeats itself… Once again.

Barely two weeks ago, at the end of September, the Grand Morin was already emerging from its bed in many municipalities, causing damage in particular in Crécy-la-Chapelle. In La Ferté-Gaucher, residents watched with concern the rising water levels throughout the day. Some roads were flooded without causing major damage.

This Thursday, October 10, Storm Kirk will not have spared the city. After February and August, it is the third time that the town has been hit by heavy flooding.

A significant flood but lower for its inhabitants

Éric*, whose house borders the Grand Morin, once again saw his garden and cellar flooded. A situation that has become almost “usual” with repeated floods. “I have 50 cm in my cellar whereas usually, when it is flooded, I have two meters,” he confides. Although he considers that the flood is less significant than that of August, he is still equipped with a pump to evacuate water from its basement.

Just a few meters away, the 3A garageinstalled along the river was not spared. If Tony tried to save his equipment by positioning it high up, unfortunately this was not enough. “I have 40 cm of water in the office and 55 cm outside,” explains the mechanic, whose water reaches his knees. During the floods in February, the garage was already under 94 cm of water compared to 98 cm in August. During the very first flood of the year, Tony was forced to close his garage for five weeks. During the second, he lost seven vehicles. “I have never had a year like this. He confides. “This time, I only have cleaning, but this situation still bothers me.”

“We have to leave”

“We cannot live in such anxiety every day, we can no longer sleep when we know that the water is going to rise.” On the side Valley ambulanceswater infiltrated the premises. “It is not higher than in August, but we are still 10 cm below the 2016 flood. We are not safe from it rising again…”, confides Serge with difficulty , the owner of the medical transport company. Because of the flood, the ambulance driver and his team were unable to provide transportation for the day and are even planning a new white day on Friday: “We cannot cross Coulommiers which is also under water. Earlier, I had an emergency where I only had a 10 km journey. I did 50 because I had to take a huge detour. » he declares.

This time, Serge managed to move his vehicles before the waters rose. Last August, in the middle of the Paris Olympic Games, the Fertois ambulance driver lost two intervention vehiclesone of which was sent directly to the scrapyard. The second is under repair. “The year 2024 is a dramatic year, I’ve never seen that. We had to invest in a new ambulance to be able to work. And there we have new floods. The company loses money every day,” he admits.

The Fertois ambulance driver plans to move by 2025, but always at La Ferté-Gaucher: “We just endure each time. We have to leave, we can’t put up with floods every three months. We can’t live with a cleaver above our heads all the time. If we continue like this, we will end up closing the business.”

* the first name has been changed

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