(Sailly-Laurette) A “river of mud” poured out during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in the east of the Somme, flooding dozens of houses while the department was classified on yellow alert for storms, indicated its president of the AFP, as well as the prefecture.
“For 20 minutes, a deluge fell” Tuesday early evening on certain towns in the east of the department, causing significant mudslides until the beginning of the night, even “a river of mud” in Sailly-Laurette, the village most affected by the phenomenon, explains Stéphane Haussoulier, the various right-wing president of the department.
In this single commune bordering the River Somme, 16 vehicles were swept away, eleven homes flooded and 24 people evacuated, specifies Mr. Haussoulier.
The roadway is completely destroyed in places and residents are busy cleaning streets and gardens, covered in a thick layer of mud, an AFP journalist noted late Wednesday morning.
William, a resident of the town who did not give his last name, “heard a commotion” shortly after 8:30 p.m., and “thought it was a helicopter”. A “torrent” swept away (his) two cars below,” he says.
Another resident of the town, Sylvie Hauw, 59, says she is “depressed”, and dreads the moment when, once the cleaning is completed, she will have to see the damage in her garden, to which she “dedicates a lot of time”. “It’s going to be terrible to accept,” she fears.
In addition to Sailly-Laurette, at least ten other municipalities in the east of the department were affected, including Albert, 10,000 inhabitants, located more than 10 km from the river.
Videos posted on social networks show large torrents of mud pouring at high speed into the streets of several towns, flooding gardens and rising to the top of the wheels of cars moving with difficulty.
“These events caused material damage to around a hundred homes” and “no casualties have been reported”, indicates the Somme prefecture in a press release.
In total, 229 firefighters were engaged in 83 interventions, state services add.
“This event was not particularly planned,” emphasizes Stéphane Haussoulier. The Somme was classified Tuesday evening on yellow alert for thunderstorms.