“We are going to study, try to understand the phenomenon. » The mayor of Chailles, Florent Marmagne, during the day and then the night of October 17, 2024, experienced his first major intervention as mayor since the start of his mandate.
“That day, I went out around 6:30 p.m. to see if the manholes and drains had been cleaned, given the heavy rain forecast. I didn't get home until 3 a.m. » The councilor crisscrossed the town (1), intervened with the victims, approached the state services around 10 p.m. to take stock of the weather forecasts and already announce that he will submit a file for recognition of natural disaster. While considering making the gymnasium available to disaster victims. “Three or four families had to leave their homes. I saw people in distress. There is nothing we can do about the water. »
“Already the record of the last fifteen years”
“We submitted a file for 29 housing units and a thirtieth has since been added,” specifies the mayor, met three weeks after the events. “For some, there is not much damage, for others, it is much more significant. » Damage in garages, in basements, but also in inhabited areas. Insurers and experts have already started to intervene. The natural disaster order (2), if taken, will allow “to lift the exclusions from certain contracts” and “it speeds up a little”, believes Florent Marmagne, satisfied with the support of the prefecture, while putting the facts into perspective while hundreds of deaths have already been recorded after the floods which occurred in the Valencia region, in Spain.
After the rain, the procedures and the cleaning, it is already time for feedback. “We have established a disaster map. To try to understand what happened. This time we could say we didn't know. Next time, we won't be able to do it. And there is a fear that it will happen again”adds Florent Marmagne. Since January 2024, more than 840 mm of water has fallen on the town. “This is already the record of the last fifteen years. »
“In the morning, we were like on an island”
If there are victims in the lower part of Chailles, due to the classic phenomenon of overflowing cesspools, others are located in the upper part of the commune, in the direct vicinity of an overflowing field. “at water saturation”. This is the case at Delphin Ramos, located on rue des Bordes and where the water rose to 2.50 meters in the basement, rushing everywhere into the outbuildings and the cellar, ruining machines and tools acquired throughout a lifetime. “It doesn’t dry” laments, “tired”his companion Annette Bezault, noting the mountain of tasks still to be accomplished.
It's hard to believe that the water rose to the top of the basement door.
© Photo NR, Jérôme Dutac
“In the morning, we were like on an island. » The mayor, his municipal council and the technical services are wondering: should we buy this field and dig a ditch? Think about how to return the water?
Delphin Ramos spends a lot of time sorting, throwing away and trying to save equipment since the water receded.
© Photo NR, Jérôme Dutac
Hélène Decobert, who lives on rue des Terres-Blanches, is also one of the victims. She measured a meter of water in her basement. His insurance opened a file. It follows its course fueled by photos and invoices. What upsets her are the permanently damaged objects and the drowned memories. In total, she estimates her damage at €3,000. “everything put together”. Every evening, after work, she empties 4 bags of pellets filled with water into her wheelbarrow. She had stocked up a few days before the floods. “In a month I will be finished,” she concluded with a smile. Having lived in this house on the edge of the forest for 15 years, this was her first flood.
(1) Thursday October 17, in addition to Chailles, the Blois and Ouchamps sectors were particularly affected. Firefighters carried out more than 200 interventions.
