Bad weather: in Saint-Martin-d’Ardèche, the restaurants on the quay suffered the onslaught of the Ardèche

La Guinguette du Moulin, dimanche, engloutie par les eaux. C. C. – Midi Libre

Le quai des Pescadous, Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche, dimanche. C. C. – Midi Libre

Habitués au risque inondation, les habitants ne s’attendaient pas à une telle crue. Depuis lundi, nettoyage et réparations au programme. 

In Saint-Martin-d’Ardèche, the flood of the river is   "memorable. We didn't expect it", testifies a resident. "We closed the platforms at 7 p.m. We were there at 1:30 [during the night from Saturday to Sunday], there was only 20 cm on the road. We would never have thought that there would be so much water at 6 a.m. , says Mayor Daniel Archambault. The sector was on orange alert for bad weather and yellow for the risk of flooding, a color which corresponds to minor overflows, and this was not until 10 a.m., several hours after the flood of the ;Ardèche, that the orange level flood alert has fallen. The restaurants and bars of the Quai des Pescadous were swallowed up by water. "The alert system malfunctioned, we couldn’not be able to anticipate", says Frédéric Lutz, owner of La Guinguette du Moulin who, in the night, was able to evacuate the canoes with a friend: the establishment which he has owned since 2001 is on the water's edge. He is therefore used to floods. "The last one was in 2019. Floods are becoming more frequent, he testifies. This time, 2,200 m3 of water per second was announced at Vallon-Pont-d’Arc. In these cases, I would have had 20 cm in my restaurant. We had two meters more water in Saint-Martin." Because the Ibie, a tributary which joins the Ardèche after Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, has come to swell the river. The municipality has also been asking the prefecture for some time to install a level measurement scale on the Ibie.

In the middle of construction this Wednesday, the owner of the Guinguette du Moulin, Frédéric Lutz, shows these bulbs which were bathed in water, the trace is there… C. C. – Midi Libre

"Putting out all the stops"

Fortunately, the damage is only material: five or six cars and eight to ten businesses which are preparing to open with the arrival of spring have suffered damage. more or less substantial.
Since Monday, it's been the big cleaning. Lætitia and Guillaume, managers of the La Riviera snack bar, were able to get the equipment out on time. "but it is not yet known whether the electrical system is working. We're waiting for it to dry. There is mud in the air conditioning system and in all the electrical cables". "I’open in less than a month, I'm going to work hard, continues Frédéric Lutz. The people of Saint-Martin are united. Everyone helped everyone." On Tuesday, firefighters removed fifteen centimeters of mud from his property. A shed was destroyed, the power of the water loosened posts that were firmly fixed… 

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