DIRECT. Thunderstorms and floods in the Gard: new big alert in the department – Linternaute.com

“It was the apocalypse, the torrent”, explains a resident of the town of Uchaud, in the Gard at the microphone of BFM TV. “I’ve been here for a little over 10 years, I’ve never seen this. My neighbors have been here for 40 years, it’s the first time they’ve seen so much water. I’ve already had of the flood, but never to that extent, it’s dramatic. “

The firefighters are fully mobilized in the department after the major storms. According to Civil Security, more than 680 interventions took place in less than 24 hours.

Guest of BFMTV, Gaëtan Prévoteau, mayor of the town of Langlade in the Gard, describes the bad weather that hit the region in a few hours. “It looked like a wave, like a tsunami. The walls fell one after the other, the roads were hit.”

Also during his press briefing at the end of the Council of Ministers, Gabriel Attal indicates that 750 firefighters are still mobilized in the Gard to help the victims, in the aftermath of the violent bad weather which hit the department. “I want to express my gratitude to them,” added the government spokesperson.

After the heavy floods in the Gard, Henri Brin, president CMA 30, was the guest of France Bleu this Wednesday morning. To support them, the Gard chamber of trades is launching a crisis unit. The number of the emergency cell 04.66.62.80.80.

During the report of the Council of Ministers, Gabriel Attal returned to the bad weather and floods in the Gard. The government spokesman affirms that vigilance remains “extreme” because of the new rains which arrive and that the state of natural disaster will be engaged.

In Nîmes, despite the violent storms and floods, the fair is still maintained as explained by France Bleu.

“At this stage, there is no further search for people in progress,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Agrinier, head of communication for the Gard firefighters in the morning. “It is an exceptional mobilization which made it possible, at this stage, to avoid victims, which represents an extreme relief given the violence of yesterday’s storms”.

Beyond the Gard, the South-West was also very affected as we can see on the images of many mudslides.

The situation could worsen in the department because of new thunderstorms expected in the evening.

The next day is often the time to see the damage, but in the Gard, it is also the time to prepare for new thunderstorms. The Prefecture decided in particular for safety to close all schools on Wednesday.

According to weather forecast France, at the beginning of the morning, thunderstorms still concern the east of the Gers, in Najac. Rains irrigate part of Aveyron and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to the North-East. These stormy showers continued into the night. In the Southwest, this morning, a temporary lull is emerging with a risk of showers, then a resumption of thunderstorm activity from midday. Around the Gulf of Lion and on the Cevennes, the showers remain frequent and are accompanied by thunderclaps. These showers are occurring in areas already affected by heavy rainfall in the morning of Tuesday. Hail is also possible.

In addition to the Gard, which was hard hit, the whole of France was particularly affected by the precipitation with very high accumulations.

Due to thunderstorms, 60 people had to be evacuated from a campsite in Aimargues, in the Gard, because of the floods. “We saw the water rise with the naked eye. In five minutes, from the end of the campsite, it arrived at the first sanitary” explains a vacationer on BFM TV.

Météo France has updated its list of departments concerned by the orange vigilance “storms” and “rain-floods”. They are now five in number with Gard, Hérault, Ardèche, Drôme and Isère.