The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced Thursday, November 9 from the ministry’s crisis center the closure of schools and nurseries in 200 municipalities in Pas-de-Calais – compared to 74 until then – due to the news floods expected in the department.
“We will see for Monday’s openings if it is possible,” he added. Regarding this new episode of flooding, “it is possible that the events of this night are very important, perhaps more important than those they experienced this week,” warned Mr. Darmanin, calling for a “very great vigilance.”
The department, already on red flood alert, went into red rain and flood alert on Thursday afternoon, an episode which should not end until midday on Friday. The North, Seine-Maritime and the Somme are placed on orange vigilance.
Third flood in a week
In the west of Pas-de-Calais, cumulative rainfall will reach 50 mm to 70 mm, or even 80 mm to 100 mm locally. Total accumulations could reach 50 mm in the west of the Nord department. This new “intense rainy episode” follows “already exceptional accumulations for several days” and occurs “in a very worrying hydrological context”, specifies Météo-France.
Pas-de-Calais has been placed on red flood alert since midnight for the coastal rivers of the Liane and the Aa, two rivers having already exceeded their reference peak during record floods on Tuesday, as well as for the Canche. In the sectors of Montreuil-sur-Mer, Boulogne-sur-Mer and Saint-Omer, the population once again received the alert message advising to postpone travel, take refuge at height and cut off water, gas and electricity in case of flooding.
In Saint-Etienne-au-Mont, residents are experiencing their third flood in a week, with certain streets in the town also having experienced flooding during the passage of storm Ciaran on November 2.