The French government announced today that it will receive “emergency measures” for the northern part of the countrywhich was hit by a new wave of devastating floods, following that of November.

The water level has started to recede, but many communities are still under water. In the Ardennes (northeast), firefighters rescued this morning a female driver who was trapped on a flooded road.

A part of France was hit by heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday and a 70-year-old man died yesterday when his vehicle was swept away by mud in the western part of the country.

The floods mainly affected the apartment of Pas de Calais (north), which was put on red alert, but also other neighboring apartments.

In the Aa river the water level reached the highest warning point “early last night”, according to the monitoring organization Vigicrues.

“The drop in water levels started during the night of Wednesday into Thursday”, but the new rains expected today “could…slow down” this drop.

During a visit to Pas-de-Calais, Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Bessou promised “emergency measures” due to the “state of emergency”.

He mentioned the possibility of not having to file a new request in order to classify the communities as affected by a natural disaster, as “it is considered to be the same episode that continues.” This new wave of bad weather affects 169 communities compared to 282 in November.

In addition to the 50 million euro emergency fund announced after the record floods that injured 4 people and caused significant damage in November, “we will obviously increase the amount of our support,” he added.

France

Houses isolated

In Teruan, a community of 1,200 residents that was inundated by muddy waters for the second time, the high school was flooded and in the neighboring community of Arc, the town center was submerged under water, forcing residents to leave their homes, sometimes with the help of firefighters who they were deployed in the area by boats or even by tractors driven by neighbors.

Residents express their concern about floodingwhich seem to never end, as they sweep in some cases the same districts.

“Projects are needed now,” said department president Xavier Bertrand (right), asking relevant ministers to speed up decision-making.

In images that were recorded from above in the Ark. streets and gardens can be seen to have flooded vast areas, where houses have been isolated by the muddy waters.

In Pas de Calais, 500 households remain without electricity and 2,000 residents do not have access to drinking water, it was announced today by regional governor Jacques Bijan.

Bad weather also hit neighboring Belgium, where about 40 homes were damaged in the province of Antwerp yesterday by a tornado that tore off roofs without causing any injuries.