Weather alert: one dead in a flooded river, Pas-de-Calais remains on red alert, 4 other departments in orange

Les inondations à Arques dans le Pas-de-Calais le 3 janvier 2024. France Bleu Nord – Matthieu Darriet

Le Pas-de-Calais maintenu en vigilance rouge aux crues, quatre autres départements en orange alors qu'un a été retrouvé mort dans une rivière. Le point sur la situation ce jeudi 4 janvier 2024.

The days pass and are the same for the inhabitants of Pas-de-Calais. They have been facing a sharp rise in water levels for several months, making the department completely devastated. And this Thursday, January 4, nothing changes, the situation remains complicated with the continued red alert, according to the latest bulletin from Météo France.

Red again and again

The hard-hit department of Hauts-de-France therefore remains in red for the moment for floods and on yellow alert with regard to wind and rain-flooding. The four other departments in orange for floods are: North, Aisne, Ardennes and Meuse, according to Vigi Météo France.< /p>

🔴 1 département en Rouge
🔶 4 départements en Orange (https://t.co/CSYEovTI83) pic.twitter.com/2EMsEXcPiZ

— VigiMétéoFrance (@VigiMeteoFrance) January 4, 2024

"The significant precipitation observed at the start of the week, as well as the saturation of the soil, caused an exceptional reaction in the 'Aa" basin, explains the meteorological site. Even if a clear decline has begun over the entire section due to a lull in precipitation, this could be delayed due to further rain expected during the day.

A death in Loire-Atlantique

The return of bad weather at the start of 2024 is also marked by the death of a 73-year-old man, who was reported missing this Tuesday morning in Loire-Atlantique.

While he went to look for bread, the septuagenarian never returned. But the man was found this Wednesday afternoon as the trunk of a car emerged from a swollen river, explains  the prosecutor, Renaud Gaudeul cited by France Bleu. The hope of finding the missing person alive quickly faded because the divers dispatched to the site made the macabre discovery of a lifeless body, that of the septuagenarian, at the scene. #39;interior of the car.

"Everything suggests that the person concerned took this route which was nevertheless cut off from traffic", details the prosecutor.< /p>

In pictures

The images of these floods, particularly in Pas-de-Calais, are quite impressive. The authorities and emergency services are calling for the greatest vigilance and not to take any risks.

🌊 Dans le Pas-de-Calais, le niveau de l'Aa monte encore en aval ce mercredi soir. Images depuis Arques. (© Christophe Brasseur) pic.twitter.com/BXujYFckaJ

— Météo Express (@MeteoExpress) January 3, 2024

Pire qu’en novembre 2023 dans cette commune du Pas-de-Calais à Aire-sur-la-Lys. Le niveau de la rivière Lys reste extrêmement haut ce mercredi soir.

Crédit Virginie Dubois (Facebook)#VigilanceRouge #inondation pic.twitter.com/bjQAiGN01Y

— Kévin Floury (@kevinfloury) January 3, 2024

However, the inhabitants of the disaster areas are waiting as best they can for a decline.