the departments of Côte-d’Or and Yonne on red alert, that of Indre-et-Loire returns to orange

Part of the country remains on alert due to the risk of flooding linked to severe weather. Two departments, Côte-d’Or and Yonne, were placed on red alert at midday, Monday 1^er April, due to a danger of “major flood on the Armançon”, had specified Météo-France.

On this tributary of the Yonne, “the climbs are fast and strong” and flood level “already locally exceeds that observed in May 2013”according to the department prefecture. “In the absence of further precipitation, the flood peak is expected in the Aisy-sur-Armançon sector during the night from Monday to Tuesday”she specifies.

Placed on red alert for part of the weekend, the department of Indre-et-Loire was downgraded to orange on Monday afternoon. “The decline is clear (…)Vienna is declining »declared the prefect of Indre-et-Loire, Patrice Latron, during a press conference in Chinon, estimating the episode “exceptional”. “In the days to come, we will remain vigilant”because “rain is forecast in the departments bordering [le nôtre]and these rains condition the level of the Vienne”he clarified.

The departments of Gironde, Dordogne, Charente and Charente-Maritime remain placed on orange vigilance, as do those of Saône-et-Loire, Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône. Almost the entire rest of mainland France is placed on yellow alert.

Numerous evacuations took place in Indre-et-Loire and Vienne, due to the severe river flooding which has occurred since Saturday in the center-west of the country. A kayaker is still needed.

The alert was given on Saturday, around 4 p.m., by several witnesses, who saw the kayaker ” in trouble “ from the town of Aixe-sur-Vienne (Haute-Vienne), 10 kilometers west of Limoges. “They judged, from a distance, that he had difficulty controlling. It was from there that research was launched” over around ten kilometers, explained to Agence France-Presse (AFP) the secretary general of the Haute-Vienne prefecture, Laurent Monbrun. Like the day before, the research carried out on Sunday “to the border with Charente” by the gendarmerie, with a helicopter in support, gave nothing, the prefecture said. They resumed Monday morning, in an area now in decline and without particular vigilance. The prefecture, however, reports the absence “reporting a missing loved one”.

More than 560 people evacuated in Indre-et-Loire

In Indre-et-Loire, the Vienne began to recede at Chinon at midday. Across the department, 562 people have been evacuated since midday on Saturday, including 370 in Chinon, the prefecture said.

In Gard, the prefecture announced the closure to traffic of 17 submersible bridges and lookout crossings, as well as numerous municipal submersible bridges.

In mid-March, eight people died in bad weather linked to storm Monica, which hit the south-east of France. Among them, six died in Gard – swept away while trying to cross swollen rivers by car – one in Hérault and one in Ardèche.