The floods reached their peak, on the night of Tuesday March 2 to Wednesday March 3, in Tonnerre and Chablis, the two most affected municipalities in Yonne, a department still classified on red alert, but they continue to spread downstream , we learned from the authorities.

Aube, Côte-d’Or, Haute-Marne are on orange alert for significant flooding from Morvan to Champagne. Saône-et-Loire is no longer on alert, according to Météo-France.

The peak was reached on Wednesday around 3 a.m. in Tonnerre, on the course of the Armançon, a river kept on red alert, said Cédric Clech, mayor of this town of nearly 5,000 inhabitants, interviewed by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The level of this tributary of the Yonne then reached 2.95 meters, causing some overflows in certain arteries of the large town, noted a journalist from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Between 100 and 150 people live in 80 homes located in a flood zone, but only two had to be evacuated and relocated to the emergency accommodation center, installed in the city gymnasium, according to Mr. Clech.

“Very slow” decline of the Serein

These two interventions brought to 19 the number of evacuations carried out by emergency services since Tuesday morning in Yonne, according to firefighters.

In Chablis, the peak was also reached during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the level of the Serein having risen to around 2.50 meters, or 35 cm higher than in 2013, according to the mayor, Marie-Josée Vaillant . The elected official recalls that “three weeks ago”, the small wine-growing village had already been flooded. In the town of 2,300 inhabitants, renowned worldwide for its white wines, the decline was visible on Wednesday morning, and winegrowers were already starting to work to assess possible damage in their cellars.

Further downstream, vigilance remains important, particularly on the course of the Armançon, maintained on red alert. The rise in the water level will be noticeable from midday and will reach its maximum between the end of the afternoon and nightfall, particularly in the Brienon-sur-Armançon sector. The expected flood heights remain slightly higher than those observed during the last floods in 2013, according to the Yonne prefecture.

For the Serein, kept on orange alert, the rising waters are occurring at a “very sustained pace”, she added. Upstream, the decline is “very slow” and could, moreover, be slowed down by the expected precipitation throughout the day, she adds.