This Tuesday, November 12, 25 years after the dramatic floods of November 1999 in Aude, the prefect Christian Pouget, the president of the Department Hélène Sandragné and the president of the joint union of aquatic environments and rivers (Smmar) Eric Menassi commemorated the events, calling for maintaining the “culture of risk”.
In the hands of the prefect, the president of the Department, the president of Smmar and that of the departmental fire and rescue service (Sdis), a flood marker stamped 1999: a symbol of the floods of November 12 and 13, 1999, of its 26 deaths and more than 2 billion francs in damage. This Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 25 years to the day after the tragedy, Eric Menassi, president of Smmar, began by recalling “one of the worst tragedies experienced by Aude”. A drama of which the Smmar and the river unions are “the heirs”with the choice made of “no longer put up with things”to go beyond just reconstruction. Since 1999, and 2022, with the creation of Smmar, Aude has strived to make “the more resilient territory”has “arrange it”has “protect populations”to them “acculturer”. To face the obvious: “Climate disruption and extreme precipitation are not a yes or no question. When and where is it?”
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Deadly floods of November 1999: hour by hour, the story of the real hell experienced in Aude 25 years ago
Same feelings displayed by Hélène Sandragné: “stupor and pain” in which had been immersed “a whole territory. I remember the horror of the next day”. The idea of “never again” carried by the actors of the time remains relevant today: “Of course we don’t control the elements, but we can reduce the risks and that’s what we’ve been doing for 25 years.” A common thread which must rest on “risk culture”pour “better predict, better protect ourselves”. The prefect Christian Pouget greeted him this “necessary and welcome ceremony. To remember these events, and to convey a message by the example of what can happen tomorrow, of what happened yesterday in Valencia”.
People who still tell you but no it won’t happen
The opportunity to point “here and there, people who tell you but no it won’t happen”. Comment illustrated by Aude news: “The Pavillon campsite, in Sigean, we are right in it.” Where the State is fighting to make residents living in risk areas leave the premises, “even though the Barnier Fund is there to allow the repurchase of property, without discount”.
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With “40% of the population affected by the risk of flooding”, it is time to raise awareness in Aude for the “season” of intense Mediterranean rains
So, even if “progress on prevention and compensation tools” have been carried out, the prefect invites us to go even further, evoking these survival kits, ready to take when the emergency departure from a home is necessary, in particular to take away precious administrative documents. One more small gesture, mentioned during a commemoration completed by “a thought for the victims and their families”.
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