France Alloted 50-Million Euros To Help Towns In Floods After Record Rainfall

French President Emmanuel Macron promised two emergency financial packages to help towns in northern France affected by flooding.

He also declared a state of natural disaster for 214 towns in Pas-de-Calais and around thirty in the Nord department.

Flooding In Different Areas

Flooding in northern and eastern France has forced hundreds of people to flee their flooded homes, causing roads to collapse and schools and public institutions to close.

Rivers have burst their banks as a result of record rains, prompting the government to proclaim an official state of emergency in hundreds of cities and villages.

Météo France, the national weather agency, said several regions remained on high alert and warned that worse could be on the way in eastern France during the next 24 hours.

"This is the first time that the country has recorded such an accumulation over 26 consecutive days in all seasons," referring to the situation between 18 October and 12 November.

The Pas-de-Calais region in northern France was dropped from red to orange alert on Wednesday, although about 50 roads were stated to be obstructed or damaged, with others fissured, relocated, or collapsed.

Residents in the Chamonix valley and near the Arve River were advised to stay at home on Wednesday until at least mid-morning, when the flooding was declared to have reached its peak in the Haute-Savoie Alps in eastern France, which remained on red alert.

Almost 300 homes were without power, and multiple highways were closed due to landslides, rockfalls, and subsidence.

Meteorologists cautioned residents along the Rhône from Lyon to Avignon that there was a risk of flooding because the river was predicted to increase by nearly a meter.

The flood was especially severe in northern France, when two storms, Ciarán and Domingos, saturated the earth in fast succession.

A low-pressure system from the Atlantic aggravated the situation.

During a visit to the coastal town of Saint-Omer, Macron announced the establishment of a €50 million one-time support fund to assist towns with their initial expenses.

"All those communities that have asked for it will be declared natural catastrophe areas ... Insurers are mobilised," said Macron, adding that the "exceptional" emergency funds announced would "evolve" depending on the conditions.

President Macron declared that he has charged the mayor of Saint-Omer with improving drainage systems from rivers to the sea, drawing inspiration from the Netherlands. I

It's a step that will almost certainly be emulated throughout Europe as climate change affects more and more people's daily lives.

Read Also: Floods Wreak Havoc in Northern France, Leaving Roads Impassable and Schools Closed

Funds For Farmers

Marc Fesneau, Minister of Agriculture, has announced a €80 million fund to assist farmers devastated by storms and flooding in Brittany, Normandy, and Hauts-de-France.

Storms Ciaran and Domingos have wreaked havoc on farmers in those areas, uprooting greenhouses, flooding buildings, and submerging crops.

Fesneau stated that "200 cattle" had died after being "drowned by the sudden rise in water" and that "several thousand hectares" of sugar beet crops alone "will not be able to be harvested."

The French government is likewise taking more concrete steps.

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