“In twenty years I have never seen this”… Placed on red rain-flood alert until 10 p.m., the Moselle is facing significant rainfall this Friday, forcing firefighters to carry out hundreds of interventions in the municipalities where water sometimes reaches 40 centimeters high in the streets.
“I managed to get some of my tools out last night, but it was a disaster: the water heater, the electrical panel, everything is flooded, nothing works anymore,” laments Christian Vivin, resident of Boulay-Moselle for twelve years, noting his cellar submerged up to 2.40 m high. And added: “There is water higher than me, this is the first time that this has happened to me. We had already had small problems with flooding and sewers, but not like this.”
The rains continue
Several streets are blocked in this town of 5,000 inhabitants east of Metz, where firefighters are deployed in large numbers for pumping operations: the water already reaches the top of the car wheels and the rains continue. The town hall, like other buildings, is without electricity.
“It has never been so intense here,” confirms Valérie Henrion. Located on the heights of the town, her house has so far been better preserved, but she is worried. “They are forecasting rain for several days, so it’s not going to stop anytime soon,” she anticipates.
Call for “greatest caution”
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, called on Mosellans, on the social network The police are asking residents to stay at home and “elevate valuable objects” to limit damage, while only calling on the firefighters “in case of real necessity”.
According to a report communicated by the department’s firefighters, “nearly 177 municipalities are impacted”. The zone has expanded and concerns the sectors of Boulay, Saint-Avold, Sarreguemines and Bouzonville, they specify. “Residents in these areas should expect severe weather conditions.”
Around 650 firefighters were mobilized in the department, they carried out more than 740 operations during the day and continued their interventions in the evening.
“The rains will still continue and the rivers will still rise until the middle of the night. So we cannot say that the hardest part is over,” pointed out prefect Laurent Touvet at the end of the afternoon. “The situation remains serious but is not dramatic.”