Flooding continues in northern France as rain keeps falling on already-saturated ground

While the highest level flood warnings have been lifted in northern France, several departments are still under water, as rain is expected to continue throughout the week.

An aerial view of Estree, a town in the Pas-de-Calais department, flooded by the overflowing of the Canche River after days of heavy rain, 10 November 2023. © Pascal Rossignol/Reuters

“The situation remains worrying, as precipitation should… intensify Monday and Tuesday,” warned the Pas-de-Calais prefecture. “Tuesday should be marked by heavy and more intense rain, which could have a considerable impact on waterways.”

Some 7,200 people around the towns of Samer and Doudeauville are still being asked not to use water, and some 700 households are without electricity.

Schools and daycare centres in the department’s 279 cities and towns will be closed through Tuesday.

There is real concern from farmers in the large milk-producing region, and the prefecture has put in place a service for businesses to lodge claims.

The Pas-de-Calais department has been shifting between the highest flood alert, red, and orange since Sunday, with the Nord, Vendée and Charente-Maritime departments still on orange alert.

With the ground saturated, any rain can cause flooding. Pas-de-Calais was already hit by storm Ciaran on 2 November, and then record flooding last week with intense rain continuing Thursday and Friday.

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

(with newswires)