Firefighters from the Southwest department made 135 interventions between Thursday and Friday, including ten rescues.
Le Monde with AFP
“If there is no, strictly speaking, of municipalities in the water, it goes up.” It is in these terms that a source to the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques summarized with From the France-Presse agency, Friday, December 10, the situation of the department, struck by bad weather. Intense rains and stream overflows have occasioned 135 firefighters since Thursday without making victims. “Extractions of cars, delicate situations”: Ten ten rescues were made, specified the prefecture at one point at the beginning of the morning, stressing that 39 interventions were in progress.
Fieldshields took place in Biriatou, south of Hendaye, along the Spanish border, where about twenty people had to be relocated. More inside the land, at Itxassou, the weather has caused “the partial landslide of a hill” Thursday. The traffic of the trains between Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Bayonne was interrupted and had to resume Friday morning. The rain to continue on Friday, the prefecture called for vigilance, especially in Laruns, in Béarn, and Bayonne.
Violent winds
Friday morning, there were already more than 80 millimeters of rains on the Basque Country. The hourly intensities are temporarily strong, causing “damaging overflows” on the Nive, the Nivelle, the season, the Gaves of Oloron and Pau, the Adour and the Arros. And with the Redoux, part of the snowpack of the Pyrenees melted, helping to supply the rivers.
Weather-France placed the Orange Vigilance Department “Avalanches” until Friday at midday and in vigilance “rain-flood” until 16 hours. Daily rainy cumulations from 70 to 90 millimeters are expected in plain by mid-day. The weather is accompanied by violent northwest winds up to 60 to 90 kilometers / hour in plain, up to 100-110 kilometers / hour on the coast and 120 or 130 kilometers / hour in the mountains. Another aggravating factor, the swell that sweeps the Basque coast can upset the flow of water in the estuaries, according to weather-France.
The prefecture specified Thursday evening that 65 gendarmes were deployed, 82 firefighters engaged with 32 vehicles, and two nautical rescue teams ready to intervene. On Facebook, the city of Saint-Jean-de-Luz pointed out to have identified very little damage.
At the country level, Météo-France has placed on Thursday evening orange vigilance for rain, flood and risks of avalanche the departments of the Hautes-Pyrénées, of Haute-Garonne, Ariège and Ain, and added an orange avalanche vigilance for the five departments of the Pyrenees, the Isère and the two soaps.