Floods: the Basque country hit hard too

The Basques did not have the leisure to extend the football festivities. A good part of the night and the early morning Monday, impressive rains fell causing damage, cuts of roads, trains and big traffic jams. The Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz-Bidart agglomeration, as well as some interior towns, were battered by the storm

"It was about 7 am when it started to rain again. The sump in the road was obstructed by all kinds of pebbles and branches from the top of the Négresse, with the previous rains, "testifies the resident who lives at the bottom of the viaduct, in the station area in Biarritz. The paved surfaces converted into gutters sent large quantities of water towards this low point, which became engorged. "I saw my car and those of my neighbors float like rafts.

Water rose up to 1.40 m at the curb, cutting off traffic on the road and the nearby railroad. "As soon as the technicians intervened on the siphon, everything was emptied in two or three minutes. " But the damage was done. Tons of mud, branches and gravel remained on the road.

The Isolated Négresse in Biarritz

Inside the houses, it was also necessary to clear and clean. Cutting an essential axis for entry into Biarritz, as well as other pavement floods had the immediate consequence of causing considerable traffic jams at the time of joining his work. At the Negress, traffic could only be restored in the afternoon. An operational command post has been set up between the Bayonne sub-prefecture to manage the incidents. 263 firefighter interventions were recorded in the Angle area t, to respond to rising water levels in homes or roads. But no injuries are to be deplored.

The most affected municipalities are Ustaritz, Bidart, Arbonne, Biarritz, Bayonne while a flood of camping in Espelette damaged a dozen vehicles.