Northern France struggles to dry out after widespread flooding

Parts of northern France remained on high alert for flooding Friday, with hundreds of schools closed after days of torrential rainfall.

A resident walks in a flooded street of Neuville-sous-Montreuil, northern France, on 9 November, 2023. AFP - SAMEER AL-DOUMY

Some 130 towns hit by last week's storm Ciaran, are struggling to recover. At least 50 in the Pas-de-Calais and Northern France departments have registered a state of natural disaster.

Firefighters in several areas were using huge pumps capable of absorbing 5,400 cubic metres of water an hour to stem the damage.

The Red Cross has opened a dozen refuges for people forced out of their homes. The largest is in Saint-Etienne-au-Mont, where 300 houses were flooded.

Schools in 200 towns in the area are to remain closed until Monday. 

A post on social media showed the village of Frencq cut in two after the river Witrepin broke its banks.

Inondations dans le Pas-de-Calais : le village de Frencq est coupé en deux à cause du débordement du Witrepin, un affluent de la Canche pic.twitter.com/h7eyG4YLa1

— France Bleu Nord (@fbleunord) November 10, 2023

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Vigilance urged

France's Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, said there were concerns over another period of heavy rainfall early next week.

Meanwhile French authorities have urged residents to be vigilant.

"Stay out of basements and cellars, keep away from streams and rivers, go upstairs if possible, unplug electrical appliances and remain in close contact with emergency services," Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin warned.

A flooded bar in Neuville-sous-Montreuil, northern France, on November 9, 2023. AFP - SAMEER AL-DOUMY

Other nearby departements – Nord, Somme and Seine-Maritime, along with the Charente-Maritime in the south-west – are on the "orange" weather alert for heavy rains and flooding.

While flooding, cyclones and drought are natural weather phenomena, they are being amplified by human-driven climate change factors.

Earlier this week, some parts of Pas-de-Calais saw record rainfall which occurs "on average once in a century", according to Météo France.