The Pas-de-Calais region finds itself grappling with historic floods, prompting authorities to declare a red alert on Thursday. The water levels are not anticipated to recede until Friday, leading to school closures for two days.
As of 6.07am on Thursday, Météo-France issued a bulletin forecasting a continuation of intense rain, following the already exceptional rainfall experienced in recent days. This rainfall, occasionally accompanied by thunderstorms, is expected to persist until late morning on Friday, according to the weather service.
Pas-de-Calais is currently under a red flood watch for the Liane and Aa rivers, with a red alert for rain and floods effective from 2pm. Meanwhile, the neighbouring Nord department is under an orange alert for rain and flooding.
Vigicrues, France's national information service flood risks, reports red flood alerts for the Liane and Aa rivers in Pas-de-Calais, with the Hem, Canche, and Lys amont-Laquette rivers under an orange alert.
In the western part of Pas-de-Calais, rainfall totals are expected to range from 50 to 70 mm, reaching 80 to 100 mm locally in the Boulonnais and Montreuillois areas, as per Météo-France. In the Nord department, rainfall totals will vary from 20 to 40 mm, with up to 50 mm in the west of the department.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), expressed the unwavering commitment of safety and emergency services, urging citizens to remain vigilant.
Darmanin, alongside Christophe Béchu, the Minister for Ecological Transition, visited the affected commune of Saint-Etienne-au-Mont near Boulogne-sur-Mer on Wednesday.
In response to the crisis, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture has declared the closure of schools in 74 communes, particularly those around Saint-Omer, Boulogne-sur-Mer, and Montreuil-sur-Mer, on Thursday and Friday.
This decision follows the closure of schools in the Aa and Liane river basins on Tuesday.
Darmanin announced plans to declare a state of natural disaster for the affected towns in the Pas-de-Calais and Nord departments during a scheduled meeting on 14 November.
Historic rainfall levels, injuries, and evacuations
In Estréelles, in the Canche basin, the town hall told AFP that some residents have been evacuated due to fears that a dyke upstream might give way, which would "completely flood certain streets in the commune with one big wave."
In nearby Montreuil-sur-Mer, the local council is ready to receive disaster victims in a sports hall near the town hall.
The Canche, the Aa, the Hem, and the Liane are experiencing "historic" floods, stressed prefect Jacques Billant.
According to Météo-France, "some stations have recorded rainfall totals that only occur on average once a century." Up to 275 mm of rain in a fortnight was recorded at Bainghen, between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Saint-Omer.
Firefighters walk along a flooded street in Isques, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, on 7 November 2023. / © AFP
The flooding has affected almost 200,000 people and left 5,200 without running water since Tuesday evening, according to the prefecture.
One person suffered a knee injury on Wednesday, bringing the total to three minor injuries in the department since Monday.
At Arques, near Saint-Omer, a mega-pump was deployed by the French civil defence agency to pump excess water from the Aa river into a nearby canal in order to "protect a dyke put under pressure by the water level," Béchu said.
Before being placed under red flood alert for the first time on Monday afternoon, the Pas-de-Calais department had already been hit by flooding during storm Ciarán last week.
In the space of 30 days, "the equivalent of six months' rainfall" has fallen in the department, with the last week alone accounting for "three months' rainfall," according to Béchu.
On X, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne expressed her "support for the injured, residents, and public servants who are working day and night" to mitigate the damage. Borne called for "caution (…) in the face of danger."
Charente-Maritime is also under an orange flood alert. On Tuesday, a 70-year-old man died after falling into the Charente river at Fontclaireau, in a flooded area, according to the Angoulême public prosecutor's office.
The Seine-Maritime region was placed under an orange alert for rain and flooding on Thursday morning due to a "significant rainfall episode" with rainfall totals of 50 to 70 mm in general and 80 to 90 mm on the coast.
