In view of the recent floods which affected France and those which plunged Spain into chaos, how can the town of Saint-Jean-le-Blanc, located on the right bank of the Loire, in the major bed of the river, and almost 100% floodable is it getting ready?
“There are two factors to take into account, the flooding of the Loire and heavy rains like in 2016, where ground floors and cellars were flooded,” explains Oliver Silberberg, first deputy mayor. “We are currently in the process of updating our safeguard plan, the document is ten years old. We are working on it with Stéphane Engel, deputy in charge of the civil reserve which was created a few months ago. Likewise, our Dicrim (municipal information document on major risks) is also being updated, even if it is still adapted to various situations. »
Several scenarios
The elected official reminds that the essential instruction for residents, in the event of flooding, is to stay at home. Then, he explained the different possible flooding scenarios, starting with urban stormwater runoff, which occurs in the event of very heavy rain. “Waterproofing the ground (roads, parking lots, buildings) limits rain infiltration and increases runoff, which often causes saturation and backflow of the rainwater drainage network.” Another possible scenario, a rupture of the levee. The flooding would then occur upstream, at the low point of the levee located at the Château de Lumina, in Saint-Denis-en-Val. “The possible risk of the dike breaking in our town would be assessed at a water height of 6.8 meters on the Gien scale. »
Olivier Silberberg would like to emphasize that currently, the containment system is reliable with regard to small and medium floods. But, regarding larger floods, the risk is not zero.
France
