Nearly 200 people taken to safety in Ajaccio after heavy rains

Nearly 200 people were put in safety, of which 48 remained confined Thursday afternoon in a crèche and an educational establishment of Ajaccio, after torrential rains on the city at midday.

"There were no injuries except for a professional firefighter who fell in intervention and broke his leg," said a spokesman for the Corse-du-Sud fire department.

Ajaccio partially flooded

“We have carried out almost 150 lockouts and we have people who are still confined to a crèche and a school. There are 28 people in the crèche and 20 in the establishment, they are not in danger, but we expect more favorable conditions for the evacuation of these people, "he said.

The spectacular rains flooded two arteries in the east of the city and led the police to temporarily close the city's entrances in the afternoon, for fear of another stormy episode. At 4:30 p.m., when the sun had returned to the imperial city, only the two flooded arteries remained closed, the city said on its Twitter account.

Happy New Year 2020 #Ajaccio pic.twitter.com/oTWvhAMrTZ

Images posted on social networks showed flooded cars, some washed away by the runoff rushing down to the sea, in the middle of trash cans and recyclable waste containers. "100 to 120 millimeters" fell during this "particularly violent and localized" episode, said the Collectivity of Corsica.

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• Ajaccio
• Flood
• Rain