residents still “traumatized” after torrential floods in Savoie

This Monday, elected officials from La Léchère, a commune in Savoie affected by a gigantic mudslide on the night of Tuesday 14 to Wednesday 15 November, noted the extent of the damage and the work to be carried out. The hamlet of Notre-Dame-de-Briançon will have to wait “several weeks” before returning to a “normal landscape”.

“We have 1m30, 1m50, or even more of mud, sand, rock“, estimates Catherine Marquier, resident of the hamlet of Notre-Dame-de-Briançon in the commune of La Léchère, since 1979. Her garden, “his haven of peace” was buried during the floods which affected Savoie on the night of Tuesday 14 to Wednesday 15 November.

In this Savoyard village, the Fougère stream has burst its banks. “We saw apocalyptic damage“, describes the mayor, Dominique Colliard.

In more than 40 years, Catherine Marquier claims to have never experienced “a phenomenon of such magnitude“. She saw her garden completely disappear in favor of the stream. “Our lawn was swallowed by a monster. The Fougère stream cut the town in two”she explains.

Up to 3 meters of mud and rubble carried by the waters covered the streets while more than a hundred homes were affected by flooding around this town of 460 inhabitants, in the Tarentaise valley.

“We stand up during the day and cry at night because we are traumatized by this situation”

Catherine Marquier – resident of the commune of La Léchère

Almost a week after the flood, Catherine Marquier explains that she feels great sadness, desolation and great anger too. “We face it during the day and cry at night because we are traumatized by this situation.“

His anger is due to the multiple warnings about the state of the banks of the creek. “We who have lived there all the time, realize the danger of the banks which are not maintained. We have sounded the alarm a lot. We said to ourselves, if something happens, it’s not just the person who hasn’t maintained their bank who is in danger, it’s the entire population around them.”

This Monday, November 20, Dominique Colliard, the mayor of La Léchère explains that around 150 firefighters intervened until this Sunday, until the end of the emergency phase. It is impossible for him to estimate the return to “a normal landscape”: “We can assume that this will take place over several weeks.“, he said.

Since the floods, the mayor has relied on “extremely committed administrative and technical services“. And the time has come for the clearing.

Daniel Carle, seasonal as a municipal employee, was called back by the mayor to provide reinforcement. He finished his contract on October 27. A call to which he responded quite naturally: “We can’t leave colleagues alone. There is a lot to do.”

The employee believes that there is “two months of work“For him, the big problem,”it’s knowing where to attack. The priority is the roads and roads.“

Senator Martine Berthet was present on site this Monday, November 20, to see the extent of the work to be carried out. For the moment, a state of natural disaster has still not been declared in the municipality. Insurance experts continue to assess the damage until the end of the week.

With Samuel Cardon / FTV.