Flooding Causes Millions of Euros of Damage
West of Avignon worst affected by severe weather
Areas to the west of Avginon were this weekend affected by heavy rain fall and flooding of the Rhone and rivers that surround it, plus the added affects of storms and lightening strikes.
It is estimated that the cost of the damage will run into millions of euros. "We estimate the cost of flooding over 15 days to be €5 million for roads, €550 000 for colleges, and €14 million for municipalities", says Jean Denat, vice president of the General Council of the Gard Region, in charge of transport. "And it will certainly be worse this time, there will be more important work to do."
Some areas affected had learned from previous disasters (flooding in 2002) and were prepared to manage the crisis. With early evacuation of camping areas, fire fighters and Red Cross at the ready and calls to the public to remain vigilant ahead of the rain storms commencing.
Avignon itself was also preparing over the weekend with the removal of parked vehicles from the banks of the river Rhone. Many roads across the regions were closed and in Avignon drivers were taken by municipal services to retrieve their parked cars on the Boulevard de l'Oulle in a safe manner.
Despite attempts being made to manage the situation there was still a lot of damage across the region to the west of the city of Avignon, with an estimated 1500 homes without electricity, public transport disrupted, buses overturned, flooded fields and damage to homes that included lost roofs and water damage. Helicopters were used to reach and rescue isolated residents in rural areas.
The rain is expected to continue today and so alerts remain on high risk as emergency services battle to return order to this area. We are thankful at this point that no deaths or serious injuries have been reported.
