A month ago, the Gier river burst its banks and surged through the streets of Rive-de-Gier (Loire), carrying away everything in its path. The damage is terribleestimated at at least two million euros. A month later, the marks are still visible on buildings and street furniture, but are gradually disappearing. “There is no more damage”, rejoices Pierre, passed in front of his house. He has lived right next to the town hall for thirty years: “I just finished here! I'm giving an order. That's all. The mud, all that, we evacuated” he explains. His living space on the first floor was spared, but his cellar workshop in the basement was submerged. “The water rose to around 2.50 meters. It practically touched the vaults there. Everything was under water. Everything, everything, everything! Nothing was practically salvageable, freezer, electrical equipment etc… “
This retiree now has great difficulty estimating the damage. “It’s a bit difficult because it’s equipment that’s a few years old, we can’t compare it to new equipment.”
Even though a state of natural disaster has been declared, he does not expect much from insurance. “We are in the process of putting together a file here, we don’t know what it resulted in, the other times, it didn’t result in anything!” he laments. Pierre refers to the previous floods which affected the town in 2003 and 2008. These bad weather conditions have also become the number one topic of conversation. “It’s still quite recent. But when we find someone, we talk about it” says Pierre. “Even before it happened, we were already thinking about it. We've already experienced it twice, so this is the third. Now we're ready for the fourth” he predicts, fatalistically.
BEFORE/AFTER – One month apart, the images from Rive-de-Gier are impressive
Canal Street
Liberation Square
France
