A flood exercise over several days, almost a week, will concern many stakeholders in the Loiret until Friday, December 6. Firefighters, gendarmerie, police, prefecture, civil security, communities, elected officials: the scenario chosen is that a major flood of the Loire, which would affect sixty municipalitiesincluding thirteen entirely located in flood zones, such as Sandillon or Saint-Père-sur-Loire.
So that everyone's skills and coordination abilities are truly put to the test, the full scenario is only known to a handful of people. For the moment, what those mobilized know is that sections of the Loire went into red alert upstream of the Loiret this Monday. And that the flood, therefore, arrives in the department: it will be in Gien on Thursday, in Orléans on Friday. “This requires us to react to the information we receive.” notes Francis Triquet, mayor of Combleux. “Half of the municipality is in a flood zone. If there is a flood, a certain number of measures must be taken and the municipal protection plan must be triggered. This tests our abilities to mobilize, to move, it allows us to evaluate our systems, to see which points deserve to be improved. It is also essential to make citizens aware that the risk exists.“
“This dry training allows us to identify our weak points and our strong points”
Started this Monday with the first fictitious alerts addressed to the authorities, on this approaching flood, the scenario will unfold until Friday, to the rhythm of exercises centered on two axes, indicates the prefect Sophie Brocas. The massive evacuation of populations and the surveillance of some one hundred and fifty kilometers of dikes are the main aspects of this long and complex exercise, which the services concerned took a year to imagine. Among the exercises: closing the doors of the Briare aqueduct, in Saint-Firmin-sur-Loire, this Tuesday morning. An evacuation of people in Orléans, Wednesday, with reservists and volunteers for “play“the role of evacuees.”It is necessary to organize a major flood exercise“said the prefect.”The previous one dates from 2018. This dry training allows us to identify our weak points and our strong points, so that we are ready” in the event of a real flood.“
According to the mayor of Orléans Serge Grouard, this is an exercise of one dimension “exceptional“, which the firefighters confirm. Sixty municipalities in the Loiret affected by a major flood of the Loire, this means 80,000 people located in areas at risk of flooding. As for the direct and indirect damage, the equipment, the buildings, the impossibility of working for companies, they would amount, in a real situation, to two billion euros. Those who imagined the scenario do not specify, to maintain the element of surprise, at what height this fictitious flood is located: a priori, a flood less than the great floods of the 19th century, in 1846, 1856 and 1866. Since then, the Villerest dam has been built and helps limit flooding of the Loire. This exercise could be based on the flood of 2003, which affected Giennois in particular, where a neighborhood was evacuated. But like any scenario designed to test the reactivity of the actors, surprises are on the agenda.
