7:15 p.m. – In video: an update on the floods in Bouzonville and Sierck-les-Bains
4:30 p.m. – Meurthe-et-Moselle joins Moselle, in turn placed on red “flood” alert
Meurthe-et-Moselle was placed on red “flood” vigilance this Saturday afternoon by Météo France, i.e. the same level of vigilance as for the neighboring department of Moselle, affected by significant flooding since Friday.
“The significant rain observed led to a reaction from the Vezouze”, indicates Vigicrues in its bulletin, referring to an “exceptional flood in the Lunéville sector” where the rise in the water level “continues this Saturday”. “A reaction equivalent to the flood of 04/10/2006 is expected,” specifies Vigicrues.
Moselle prefecture point at 12:30 p.m.
Weather conditions have been stable since this morning. The rain has stopped in Moselle, the situation is improving.
The sectors of Boulay, Bouzonville, Saint-Avold, Freyming-Merlebach, Sarreguemines and Thionville were particularly affected. 136 interventions by firefighters are still in progress at certain points in the department. No casualties or injuries have been reported.
Two particular points of attention:
• a landslide in Bousseviller, the RD262A is cut;
• the Saltzbronn dike in Sarralbe.
Access to the A320 motorway from the A4 motorway direction Paris → Strasbourg is still cut off towards Saarbrück. A diversion is possible via exit 39 at Farébersviller.
Departmental roads also remain closed.
11:00 a.m. – Moselle-Est continues to suffer from bad weather
The tracks on the banks are underwater in Sarreguemines. The blocking of this vital road axis of the city is causing significant traffic problems.
On the Hombourg-Haut side this morning, rue Nationale is still closed to traffic. The Spie company is working to clear the road following the mudslides, which also carried rubble.
10:00 a.m. This Saturday morning, Météo France also classified Meurthe-et-Moselle on orange alert due to the flood on the Vezouze.
7:30 a.m. The Moselle was placed on red flood alert in the early hours of this Saturday by Météo-France. Vigicrues mentions an “exceptional flood” of the Nieds rivers, with a peak “of the order of five meters”, according to Vigicrues.
If the rain has stopped and no rain alert persists, “120 firefighter interventions” were still in progress on Saturday morning according to the prefecture. According to the latter, the situation “remains complicated”.
Vigicrues reported in the morning of a “direct and generalized threat to the security of people and property”. “On the French Nied, the moderate reaction will continue” this Saturday in the “Ancerville and Condé-Northen” sectors, asserts Vigicrues, also announcing a “significant reaction” from the German Nied which “will continue on Saturday and Sunday” in the “Faulquemont and Varize” sectors.
A record dating from 1997
“On the Nied Réunée, the flood peak, with a height of around five meters, is underway in the Filstroff sector,” indicates the same Source. The height reached exceeds “the historic floods of April/May 1983 and February 1997”, notes Vigicrues.
The height of the flood of the German Nied in the commune of Faulquemont on February 26, 1997 was measured at 3.49 meters, and at 4.35 meters the same day in Filstroff for the united Nied (same height in May 1983), reports a surveillance regulation dated 2020 available on the Vigicrues website.
The Moselle had been placed on red rain-flood alert on Friday, but the alert was downgraded to orange at 10 p.m. The department experienced abundant rainfall: “the equivalent of more than a month of rain fell in less than 24 hours,” the prefecture explained on Friday evening, referring to an “impressive but not dramatic” situation and deploring “no dead or injured.”
Bas-Rhin in orange
More than 1,000 firefighters and 642 engines were mobilized to respond to the emergency, according to state services.
Other rivers are also classified as orange flood alert, notably the Moder, in the Bas-Rhin, as well as the Saar. In Diemeringen, the most affected commune in the department, around a hundred people were evacuated, according to The Latest News from Alsace.
“On the Saar, the levels should stabilize midday this Saturday,” indicates Vigicrues. The A4 motorway, in the Paris-Strasbourg direction, remains cut, while the TGV immobilized on Friday was due to leave this Saturday morning, the trees that had fallen on the track having been cleared. Several departmental roads remained inaccessible. In the surrounding area, it is time for pumping and cleaning operations.
