“We’re waiting. And that’s not the worst yet. » Nathalie, 52, watches, with other residents, the water of the Grand Morin River rise. The river has been placed on red flood alert since Wednesday afternoon. But this Thursday morning, around 7 a.m., in this hamlet in the commune of Pommeuse, the inhabitants, accustomed to the flooding of this river which reacts to heavy rain, know that the worst has not yet begun. However, the heavy rains from Storm Kirk stopped before 1 a.m.
“Look how the water rises. It’s crazy,” exclaims Claude, 68 years old. The man, a former bookseller at Place Vion, retired two years ago. He still came to see how his shop was doing, even though it was empty. “There is more than 10 cm. I stayed thirty minutes and the water rose 3 cm. » What all residents fear is what the forecasts predict. “We are told that it will be worse than in 2016. I had 50 cm in my store. »
Higher than in 2016 but not as much as expected yesterday
The month of June 2016 remains in the memory of all Seine-et-Marnais. The floods had affected half of the 500 municipalities in this largest department in Île-de-France. The Grand Morin valley had been severely affected. Here the river had risen to 3.42 m; we announced between 3.80 and 4.16 m, finally, according to the government site Vigicrues which has revised its forecasts since Wednesday evening, it will be more like 3.50 m.
From the window of her house, Anne-Marie, 76, anxiously scans the Grand Morin, about a hundred meters away and which makes as much noise as a torrent. The water has not yet entered his house but in his cellar, yes. “It’s maddening to see the water rising all the time! This year is the fourth time,” announces this woman who has lived here since 1998.
Bags of sand and flour
Her neighbor Stéphanie, 56, has lived there since 2010. A bit like everyone in the town, she went out to talk to the neighbors and measure the extent of the damage which is only just beginning. “Since I have lived here, I have been flooded seven times. And four times this year! We are told 20 cm more than in 2016.” That year, the flood stopped just below its catches which are “at height. But there it will go over. I’m going to switch off first. »
The residents put sandbags at the doors of their homes, and even bags of flour like the village baker, but nothing worked, as Stéphanie explains. “The water comes up through the ground and the pipes. »
Pascal, 57 years old, the baker in question, was able to start making some bread. But there he stopped, constrained and forced. “There, I have 4 cm of water. I have 10,000 euros worth of goods in the freezers and fridges. The worst part is that at 1:30 a.m. last night, there was nothing at all! I told myself that it was a false alarm…” Always a joke on his lips to alleviate the anxiety, he blurted out: “I called my insurer this morning, he’s a friend, and I told him that she was going to have a bit of work! »
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