The red flood alert in Pas-de-Calais was lifted on Friday morning, according to Météo France, as water levels begin to decrease following extreme flooding. But several schools have been severely damaged and will be unable to reopen for the start of term.
The department remains under orange flood alert, as did the Nord, Ardennes and Meuse.
The French Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu promised "exceptional responses" during a visit to the affected region on Thursday. He proposed streamlining the process for regions already classified as natural disaster zones, given the same floods persist, affecting 189 municipalities compared to 282 in November.
The ground is still waterlogged after record rainfall in the autumn. Béchu pledged to increase support levels in addition to the €50 million emergency fund announced following two weeks of historical floods that caused significant damage and injured four people in November.
Since Tuesday, there have been 710 evacuations, the prefecture confirmed on Thursday evening. Over 2,000 homes, 43 shops and 14 businesses have been affected.
On the Aa coastal river, which had been under red alert since Tuesday, "water levels began to drop from Wednesday night," according to flood monitoring organisation Vigicrues. However, current rainfall "could cause moderate reactions or slow the decrease of water levels."
Tweet translation: During the bad weather affecting the Pas-de-Calais region, the police is fully committed to working alongside the state services, as in Wavran, where the officers came to the assistance of residents in difficulty. Stay safe and informed at https://vigilance.meteofrance.fr/fr
The floods that hit Pas-de-Calais in recent days have also damaged schools, which will not be able to reopen for the start of the new school year on Monday 8 January, La Voix du Nord reports.
In the region, 13 schools have been marked as "flooded" or "currently inaccessible", according to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture. "They will therefore not be able to welcome pupils on Monday 8 January 2024 under satisfactory conditions," but "the national education authorities are making every effort to ensure continuity in teaching."
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By Thursday late afternoon, roughly 60 departmental roads were still submerged, 500 households were still without electricity and 2,100 residents had no access to drinking water.
Although they are natural phenomena, floods, cyclones and droughts can be amplified by global warming caused by human activity.
