REPLAY. Storm Monica: three dead, four missing, Macron calls for caution… the recap of the day

In Dions, water rescue teams searching for the father and his missing children. ALEXIS BETHUNE – Free lunch

À Goudargues, deux femmes toujours introuvables, les plongeurs mobilisés. mikael anisset – MIDI LIBRE

​​​​​​Six people are now missing in the Gard department, this Sunday, March 10, 2024, following severe bad weather caused by the Monica depression and a Mediterranean episode. Three dead bodies were found in the area. Four people are missing. 

8:40 p.m. Emmanuel Macron calls for caution

"For the next few hours", the President of the Republic calls on citizens to exercise caution in areas concerned by flood alerts, rain-flooding and waves-submersion. 

Mes pensées vont vers les victimes des intempéries et leurs familles, ainsi que vers les personnes sinistrées. Les services de l’État sont mobilisés pour porter assistance et retrouver nos disparus.

Vigilance et prudence sont encore de mise pour les prochaines heures.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 10, 2024

8:25 p.m. Search interruption

At nightfall, the teams mobilized to find the four missing people had to interrupt their search. They will resume Monday morning. 

Operations must be suspended "taking into account the situation of the rivers", specifies& nbsp;the deputy departmental director of the Gard firefighters, Thierry Carret, on BFMTV. "The intervention is extremely dangerous", adds -he. 

6:01 p.m. Two new bodies found

Two bodies were found in a vehicle in Goudargues, 150 meters from the bridge where their car had been taken, the prefecture tells us. Research continues. Three more people are missing in Gard, and one in Ardèche. 

[#VigilanceOrange ] Les recherches, opérées par les services de secours, se poursuivent.

⚠️Bilan provisoire :
↪️ 3 corps découverts sans vie : 2 à Goudargues dans un véhicule et 1 à Gagnieres
↪️ personnels de secours et de sécurité toujours engagés. Merci de respecter le bon…

— Préfet du Gard (@Prefet30) March 10, 2024

4:32 p.m. Body found in Gard

The prefecture announced in a press release that a lifeless body was found in Gagnières in Gard. His car was swept away by water in the evening. The two occupants, of Belgian nationality, had attempted to cross a submersible bridge. One of them was rescued yesterday evening, the second was found dead in the afternoon. 

Another vehicle was also discovered in Dions, downstream of a submersible bridge. Its occupants have not yet been found. 

4:02 p.m. The government is monitoring the situation closely

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal expressed his support to the relatives of the missing people, and praised the pugnacity of the emergency services who have been searching since last night for the victims of accidents caused by floods.

Nos compatriotes du Gard et en Ardèche sont confrontés à de très fortes inondations et intempéries.

Nous dénombrons pour l'instant au moins 7 personnes portées disparues dont deux enfants. Je m'associe à la peine et aux inquiétudes de leurs proches. La Nation se tient solidaire…

— Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) March 10, 2024

2:40 p.m. Helicopters, drones, divers… in  Dions, a father and his children aged 4 and 13 still missing, update on the situation

Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Tuleda, commander of the search system in Dions, gives an update on the search to find a father and his two children:"The system is made up of 60 firefighters with white water rescue teams from Gard, dog handlers and drones, reinforced by colleagues from Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse. The gendarmerie also helped us during the research phase with the provision of their drone and helicopter.

"There, we have a civil security helicopter with firefighters on board who have carried out reconnaissance in the Gardon and we are going to do one again. We are in the research phase of an area that we have clearly identified where we put personnel on the ground and drones at the same time, with boats, dogs and divers, detailed the lieutenant-colonel to Dions.

Video Alexis Béthune – Midi Libre

2 p.m. In Goudargues, divers mobilized to find the missing

In Goudargues, divers mobilized to find the missing. mikael anisset – free lunch

In Goudargues, two women still nowhere to be found. mikael anisset – FREE MIDI

In Goudargues, two women still not found, divers mobilized. MIKAEL ANISSET – FREE NOON

In Goudargues, two women still not found, divers mobilized. mikael anisset – FREE MIDI

1:30 p.m. Orange vigilance, engaged personnel, instructions to the population… update from the prefecture

The prefect of Gard takes stock of the situation on the floods. The Gard department is still placed on yellow alert for rain-floods, winds and on orange flood alert.

The orange flood vigilance concerns in particular the Cèze upstream and downstream with a peak flood expected in the afternoon, around 4 p.m. The Rhône has also been on orange alert since 10 a.m. this morning.

#VigilanceOrange Crues dans le #Gard.
Point de situation à 12h: La situation météo se stabilise au niveau des pluies. Le département reste placé en #VigilanceJaune pluies-inondations, vent et vagues de submersion. #VigilanceOrange est maintenue pour les crues.
❌6 personnes sont… pic.twitter.com/7LkbnAoo09

— Préfet du Gard (@Prefet30) March 10, 2024

"At this stage, no rain recharge is forecast. A drop in river levels is expected next night", specifies the prefecture.

In Gagnières, the car, inaccessible, was located this morning. In Dions, the search for the vehicle and the three occupants is still ongoing. In Goudargues, the search for the vehicle and its occupants is still ongoing.

The prefecture reminds the entire population to respect the instructions of the authorities. "The risk of flooding generates significant overflows likely to have a significant impact on collective life and the safety of property and people. Be careful, limit your travel.

1:16 p.m. In Dions, the place where the family was swept away by the waters

This image corresponds to the place where the family was swept away by the waters, around 3:30 a.m. this Sunday, in Dions, at the level of the RD22 submersible bridge. The mother has been found. The father and two children aged 4 and 13 are still nowhere to be found. This is a family from Gardois.

In Dions, the place where the family was swept away by the waters. alexis bethune – FREE MIDI

1 p.m. VIDEO. In Goudargues, the search continues to find two women

12:15 p.m. In Dions, water rescue teams searching for the father and his children

In Dions, where a father and his two children are still missing, a first team of aquatic rescuers from the Marseille firefighters as well as the dog team from Gard, set out to reconnoiter .

In Dions, water rescue teams searching for the father and his children. ALEXIS BETHUNE – free lunch

In Dions, water rescue teams searching for the father and his children. ALEXIS BETHUNE – free lunch

In Dions, water rescue teams searching for the father and his children. ALEXIS BETHUNE – free lunch

11:52 a.m. "Four helicopters" to find the missing, indicates Gérald Darmanin

During a speech from the Ministry of the Interior at the end of the morning, Gérald Darmanin confirmed that seven people were still missing: six in Gard and one in Ardèche. "35 rescues helped save lives", he underlined, thanking the firefighters. "These episodes were extremely difficult, violent. There are 4 helicopters today trying to find these people, drones have also been used."

Suite aux intempéries survenues cette nuit en Ardèche et dans le Gard, 7 personnes sont portées disparues, dont 2 enfants. Les sapeurs-pompiers, des renforts, ainsi que 4 hélicoptères sont déployés pour les retrouver et porter assistance aux sinistrés. Merci aux sapeurs-pompiers… pic.twitter.com/i7Djxmmen8

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) March 10, 2024

11:23 a.m. In Goudargues, two women still not found, divers deployed to find them

Divers from the Hérault departmental fire and rescue service have been deployed to Goudargues this Sunday, March 10, 2024, since the beginning of the morning, to find two women of Belgian nationality swept away with their vehicle. The research is carried out along the course of the Aiguillon, more particularly on the submersible bridge which crosses this river. Around 10:45 a.m., a vehicle was found but it was not that of the two missing women. In fact, the car belongs to the mayor of Goudargues.

In Goudargues, two women still not found, divers deployed to find them. Mikael Anisset – FREE MIDI

In Goudargues, two women still not found, divers deployed to find them. Mikael Anisset – FREE MIDI

In Goudargues, two women still not found, divers deployed to find them. Mikael Anisset – free lunch

11:15 a.m. VIDEO. In Gagnières, the firefighters try to find the missing person

Marseille firefighters are currently deployed on reconnaissance to find the driver.

11 a.m. A man missing in Ardèche

The Ardèche prefecture reported the disappearance of a man in Saint Martin-de-Valamas, after bad weather, reports BFM in particular. A firefighter-gendarmerie search system has been set up, added the prefecture.

10:48 a.m. In Gagnières, vehicle found, driver not found, what we know

The vehicle was found around 8:30 a.m. this Sunday March 10 during the recession. Since Saturday evening, gendarmes and firefighters from Gard have been deployed to find its driver, a sixty-year-old of Belgian origin who has lived in Gagnières for several years.

After a night of searching, emergency services managed to locate the car in the river bed, stranded against a pedestrian bridge, approximately 300 meters from its starting point. The work of the firefighters is difficult because of the strong current and a wooded area that is particularly difficult to access. Marseille firefighters are currently deployed on reconnaissance to find the driver.

10:30 a.m. VIDEO Midi Libre. Searches are underway to find the missing

One person is still missing in Gagnières, three people, the father and his two children in Dions, two women in Goudargues. At the height of the event, 14 white water rescuers were hired in addition to traditional means, according to the Gard prefecture.

10:08 a.m. In Goudargues, two women still nowhere to be found

In Goudargues, a vehicle with two Belgian women on board was able to be located by GPS on the submersible bridge (RD23). The search for the vehicle and its occupants is still in progress, according to the latest press release from the Gard prefecture.

10:06 a.m. In Dions, the search for the father and his children aged 4 and 13 still ongoing

In Dions, Sunday March 9, around 3:30 a.m., a vehicle entered the submersible bridge of the RD22. A family (2 parents and 2 children aged 4 and 13) in the vehicle was spotted by firefighters. The mother, 40 years old, was found by firefighters and transported to the university hospital. The search for the vehicle and the three occupants is still in progress, the Gard prefecture announced at 9:56 a.m. in a press release.

10:04 a.m. In Gagnières, the car located

A 4×4 vehicle crossed the submersible bridge with two men on board according to the latest information from the Gard prefecture. A 42-year-old man managed to get out and escape through the roof. He was rescued by firefighters. His father-in-law, 60, remained in the vehicle. The car, inaccessible, was located this morning.

09:48 a.m. Six missing in Gard including two children

The prefecture announced during a press briefing this Sunday March 10, 2024 that six people are currently missing. In Dions, north of Nîmes, a man and two children, swept away by the rising waters of the Gardon, Sunday March 9, around 3:30 a.m., are still being sought. In Gagnières, two motorists were swept away by the river. One was rescued, the other is still missing. Two Belgian women also disappeared in Goudargues, in the northeast of the Gard department.