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Floods in Charente-Maritime: evacuations continue in Saintes
Floods in Charente-Maritime: evacuations continue in Saintes – (France 2)
As the Charente river continues to flood, emergency services are trying to evacuate as many people as possible, even if some prefer to stay at home. The peak of the flood should be reached during the day of Sunday, December 17.
Seen from the sky, the town of Saintes (Charente-Maritime) looks like an islet surrounded, a little more every minute, by rising waters. Saturday December 16 at noon, the Charente river continues to flood, reaching the gardens, the quays and part of the city center. Town hall employees work tirelessly to protect homes, while firefighters try to convince the most threatened residents to leave their homes. After three days of seeing the water level rise, a retiree chose to leave her home, escorted by the firefighters.
A peak expected on Sunday
In the neighboring street, a mother evacuated two days ago finds her apartment. With her two young children and the help of the rescuers, she comes to measure the extent of the damage. In his home, almost 20 cm of water. She furtively collects some clothes and her daughter’s blanket, a few days before Christmas: “It’s really sad because we want to party like everyone else, to have a good meal”. Saturday afternoon, the level of the Charente should reach 6 meters. The authorities are calling on residents of the town to be extremely vigilant. The peak of the flood is expected on Sunday December 17 in the afternoon.
