After Moselle placed on red flood alert by Météo-France in the early hours of Saturday May 18, it is Meurthe-et-Moselle which reached this same alert level on Saturday afternoon.
“The significant rain observed led to a reaction from the Vezouze”, communicates Vigicrues in its bulletin, referring to an “exceptional flood in the Lunéville sector” where the rise in the water level “continues this Saturday”. “A reaction equivalent to the flood of October 4, 2006 is expected,” specifies Vigicrues.
As for the Moselle, the department is also placed on red alert due to a risk of “exceptional flooding” in the Nieds. “The very heavy rain observed since the night of Thursday to Friday and currently causing a rapid rise in these watercourses,” specifies the meteorological service. Neighboring Bas-Rhin was kept on orange alert for the risk of flooding by Météo-France at 6 a.m., while the alert was downgraded to yellow for the Vosges and Meurthe-et-Moselle.
If the rain stopped at midday on Saturday, and no rain alert persisted, “136 firefighter interventions” were still in progress on Saturday morning, says the prefecture in a press release. The authorities specify, however, that “no casualties” have been reported.
In Moselle, the situation is “improving”
The situation is “improving”, according to the prefecture, but the flood alert is still in force due, according to Météo-France, to an “exceptional flood” of the Nied, “with a height of around 5 meters” at the flood peak: in the area of the commune of Filstroff, “the height reached corresponds to the highest known waters, exceeding the historic floods of April-May 1983 and February 1997”.
According to Vigicrues, “the exceptional rains observed caused a rapid rise in all the watercourses of the Nieds watershed”. The monitoring service reports a “direct and widespread threat [to] the security of people and property”.
“The situation remains complicated in Hombourg-Haut” or “in the Nied valley”, confirms the prefecture, which mentions a landslide in Bousseviller, and a “particular point of attention” on the Saltzbronn dike.
“We are on a plateau, the flood has stabilized, we then hope for a decline. But we remain vigilant, everyone is mobilized, Armel Chabane, the mayor of Bouzonville, a town crossed by the Nied, told Agence France-Presse. At present, we have no major damage to report, but we do not yet have access to all the areas. » On the territory of the municipality, an electrical transformer is underwater and the residents of several streets no longer have electricity.
The A4 motorway remains cut, start of pumping operations
The department experienced abundant rainfall. “The equivalent of more than a month of rain fell in less than twenty-four hours,” the Moselle prefecture explained on Friday evening. More than a thousand firefighters and 642 engines were mobilized to respond to the emergency, according to state services.
Other rivers are also classified on orange alert for risk of flooding, notably the Moder, in the neighboring department of Bas-Rhin, as well as the Sarre and the Zorn. “Strong vigilance is necessary,” warned the prefecture in a press release, asking residents not to approach watercourses. “Given the impact of flooding on homes and businesses, particularly in the municipality of Diemeringen, the prefect will request recognition of a natural disaster for this municipality,” specifies the prefecture.
While the A4 motorway, in the Paris-Strasbourg direction, remains cut, as do several departmental roads, in the municipalities affected the day before by flooding, it is now time for pumping and cleaning operations.