Due to the heavy rains at the start of the week across the entire Eure department, the soils became waterlogged and the level of rivers rose sharply, notably that of the Epte, in the is territory.
For the firefighters of SDIS 27, the peak of interventions took place between the evening of Wednesday January 8 and Thursday 9 since in the space of one day 940 calls were processed, with 79 requests for assistance over this same period. Nothing really spectacular, but cases spread across the entire department. In total, more than a hundred men and 55 machines were mobilized.
Megaphone and toll-free number
This Friday, January 10, however, calm returned with the exception of the Gisors sector where several streets in the city center were flooded with the overflow of the Epte canal which crosses the city center. “A priori the decline is starting, but it is very slow,” specify the city services. “We still remain cautious in the Moulin à Tan district and our municipal police officers continue to contact the population to find out their needs and inform them.” At the end of the afternoon, the mayor planned to make another tour of the city to ensure that the streets that had to be closed were in fact closed and to reopen those where possible.
In total, around a hundred City agents have been mobilized since Thursday, as part of the municipal protection plan in coordination with State services, to anticipate the consequences of the predicted flooding of the Epte. “We used all possible means, from social networks to megaphones, to warn residents and ask them to remove vehicles from basements. We have also set up a toll-free number to respond to requests from the population,” continues a municipal official. Several schools were also closed this Friday and the workshops of the Louise-Michel technical high school were flooded, without consequences for the machines. The establishment could possibly reopen on Monday.
For traders, sandbags were placed in front of their shops in an attempt to avoid flooding, even if damage was noted at the height of the flood when the water rose 40 to 60 centimeters in places.
But the mobilization bore fruit since the worst was obviously avoided. “Our agents still have to carry out cleaning operations, particularly in the most impacted streets. But also to help traders who have been affected. » In total, in the Gisors sector, although no evacuations or victims were recorded, 35 firefighters were mobilized for around thirty interventions. And some will still be on site this weekend to carry out depletion and drying operations.
And for this weekend, the orange flood alert on the Epte is maintained. The Eure, the Risle, the Avre, the Charentonne, the Andelle and the Iton remain on yellow flood alert. Note that the level of the Eure is increasing. Surveillance is therefore continuing, particularly around Pacy-sur-Eure and Louviers.
