This is the third time in two weeks that Reims has had its feet in the water. Thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rains caused flooding on Monday evening in the most populous city of the department of Marne, but also in several municipalities of the Somme.
In Reims, a “stationary thunderstorm”, located above the center and to the east of the agglomeration, hit around 7 pm. The precipitation reached “50 mm in two hours,” said the prefecture. At 8:30 p.m., 900 homes were deprived of electricity but the situation was resolved in the evening, the prefecture not counting more than 30 shortly after 10 p.m. At around 11:30 p.m., the authorities counted 70 interventions by firefighters and around 20 still in progress.
Avenue Jean-Jaurès particularly affected
In the center of Reims, the floods were particularly concentrated around Avenue Jean-Jaurès. At this place, “we have a phenomenon of runoff, of concentration,” said the Prefect of Marne Pierre N’Gahane on BFMTV. But “things are recovering and the storm cell is gradually shifting,” he said.
“The phenomenon was very violent. All the water falls in 20 minutes and drains away in half an hour. Avenue Jean-Jaurès is a low point in the city and all the water flows there “without being able to be absorbed, for his part explained the mayor of Reims Arnaud Robinet. “The services of Reims and Greater Reims will meet on Wednesday to study the situation” and will meet with traders, he added, specifying “that in the long term, the development work (necessary to ensure that water is drained better) represent 15 million euros ”.
A campsite evacuated in the Somme
In the Somme, “a strong stormy activity” crossed the department from West to East on Monday evening, according to the prefecture, causing “flooding by runoff” and the overflow of certain rivers. The municipalities of Gamaches, Frettemeule, Maisnières, Poix-de-Picardie, Ponty, Boves, Saint-en-Amiénois or Maigneville are particularly affected. In Loeuilly, a campsite had to be evacuated and a dozen people sheltered in the village hall, detailed the prefecture in its report at 10:30 pm The departmental fire and rescue service (SDIS) of the Somme has identified 130 interventions and 70 firefighters engaged.