The emergency services carried out more than 300 interventions in the department.

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Mehdi Fedouach / AFP

It was planned.

The Charente river reached a peak of 6.20 m on Monday in Saintes, one of the most affected municipalities in Charente-Maritime where the levels of the river, at their highest for nearly 30 years, should begin to drop to from this Tuesday, according to Vigicrues.

This level confirms a new “historic” flood which exceeds that of 2007 (5.64 m), but without reaching the records of 1982 (6.84 m) and 1994 (6.67 m).

In this town of 25,000 inhabitants, located downstream from the Charente, water has infiltrated certain streets that have become inaccessible except by boat and on wooden footbridges.

From the security headquarters at the Saintes fire station, the Secretary of State in charge of Bérangère Abba Biodiversity confirmed the start of the process for the recognition of the state of natural disaster.

“800 to 900 people” left their homes

More than 300 firefighters, gendarmes and police, reinforced by neighboring departments, volunteers from Civil Protection and the Red Cross were deployed in the field to help the 22 disaster-stricken municipalities of the department.

The emergency services carried out more than 600 interventions related to the meteorological event "Justine" and the consecutive floods of the last days, according to the controller general Pascal Leprince, director of the SDIS of Charente-Maritime.

More than 400 people were evacuated by firefighters, but in total "800 to 900 people" left their homes, including those who had made their own arrangements, adds Pascal Leprince.

In the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, largely affected by flooding in recent days, Charente-Maritime and Charente remained on Monday the last departments in orange vigilance for floods.

In Charente, if "the recession has started" on the entire section, it is "slowed down by precipitation," said Vigicrues.

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  • Poitou-Charentes