“We raise everything we can”: in the Yonne, flood peaks expected in the evening

Inès Zeghloul, special correspondent in Chablis (Yonne) / Photo credit: ARNAUD FINISTRE / AFP 8:47 p.m., April 2, 2024

In Yonne, but also in Saône-et-Loire, residents are dreading the evening. Both departments are currently on red alert for floods and peaks are expected in the coming hours. The raging river has already burst its banks and is expected to reach, in places, record levels, around 2.30m in height. 

In Chablis, in Yonne, several residents came to support John, owner of a gîte in this town. If, for the moment, only his garden disappears under the waves, the rest should soon be flooded as well. "It's gone up 70 cm in the last hour, it's incredible. My wife has already started to raise the furniture. And this evening, they're going to cut off the power because there's an electrical transformer right next door. side", he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. 

“We can’t do miracles” 

As a precaution, Jean, a volunteer firefighter, makes rounds to secure the area. "We must avoid getting close to watercourses so as not to fall in, that's the BA BA BA. We also raise everything we can, but we have to wait until the water finishes rising to be able to do what we need to do in people's homes. For the moment, we cannot perform a miracle," he assures. 

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The current of the river is in any case very violent. On the sidewalk, the water easily reaches your calves. A situation which is not likely to improve since the peak is expected around midnight.