"The water was rising so quickly that we had to leave in a few minutes": some 1,500 inhabitants were evacuated Wednesday in the Pyrénées-Orientales and a few dozen in the Aude in the face of the overflows of two rivers following the Gloria storm , which strikes the south of France after killing six people in Spain.
During the night of Wednesday to Thursday, shortly after midnight, Météo-France confirmed "raw red vigilance" in these two departments, for the Agly and upper Aude valley sections, that is north of Perpignan and south of Carcassonne. “The rains, fluctuating in intensity, will last until Thursday noon, mainly affecting a large eastern half of the two departments, including the coast. The rains will intensify at the end of the night from Wednesday to Thursday, as well as Thursday morning, "warned the institute overnight. It will fall at the end of these bad weather Thursday at midday until "200 to 400 mm of water" and "punctually a little more", according to forecasts.
14 dead in Aude in 2018
In both departments, school transport has been suspended for Thursday. And the state services ask parents not to bring their children to school, college and high school. In Claira, a town of 4,200 inhabitants near Perpignan, one of the six to have evacuated part of its population, Kevin Mazoyer, secretary general of the prefecture, addresses the microphone to the few dozen people who have found refuge in the room versatile: “The level (of the Agly) has risen to 7.20 m, the risk has increased, the evacuation order is more stringent than ever. We will have to spend the night here, it is restrictive for you I know, but essential to protect you ”.
The Aude had been hit on October 15, 2018 by floods which had killed 14 people, notably in Trèbes (six dead), near Carcassonne. The downpours in a few hours - the equivalent of three months of rain - had left some 16,000 victims and caused 200 million euros in property damage.
The rains that have fallen in the region since Monday will, after a slight lull, double in intensity at the end of the night and Thursday morning, Météo-France warned. The situation is aggravated by the melting of recently fallen snow, which increases the flow of rivers, while on the coast, swell and strong waves from east to northeast hamper the flow of rivers. At the start of the evening, Météo France had placed two rivers of Haute-Garonne and Ariège on orange alert.
- Flood
- Severe weather
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- Languedoc-Roussillon
- Montpellier