Puttelange-lès-Thionville and Rémeling. Mudslides and flooded houses after heavy rains
Rue de la Grotte was covered in stones and mud this Tuesday morning in Himeling, a suburb of Puttelange-lès-Thionville. Cleanup operations were expected to last all day. Photo: Emmanuel Correia
"It's huge, I've never seen anything like it." Jean-Paul Tinnes has been mayor of Rémeling, in the northern Moselle region, near Sierck-les-Bains, since 1995. According to Météo Lor', more than 10 cm of water fell per square meter in his town on Monday evening. One resident even recorded 16 cm on his rain gauge. "It started raining around 7 p.m. I was called at 8 p.m., it was a disaster!" The surrounding fields were quickly flooded. "They were lakes, it overflowed onto the road and the water seeped into a few houses."
The sewer pipes were unable to absorb all the rain. "It also backed up at the lowest point in the village," explains the elected official. Work is also planned to prevent this in the future.
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The runoff water was too high to be held back by the drains. Around ten houses and garages were flooded on this street located in Himeling, an annex of Puttelange-lès-Thionville. Photo Emmanuel Correia
A few kilometers away, another mayor was on the job this Tuesday morning. Joseph Ghamo patrolled Puttelange-lès-Thionville for much of the night, from Monday to Tuesday. "We had prepared flood-proof sandbags as a precaution." The stream, which was at risk of bursting its banks, did not cause any problems. However, an unprecedented phenomenon occurred: "Around 6:30 a.m., I noticed a mudslide on Rue de la Grotte. It's a dead-end street that leads to the fields. There was 20 cm of mud, straw, and stones," said the mayor. The runoff water was too high to be held back by the drains. Around ten houses and garages were flooded on this street located in Himeling, an annex of Puttelange-lès-Thionville.
"We put an action plan in place this morning to clear this street and allow residents to get out and go to work." Local residents, the Cattenom and surrounding area urban community service, municipal staff, and farmers mobilized. Once the roadway was passable, everything still needed to be cleaned up. "We need to wash and repair the drains to prevent this from happening again if it rains again," emphasized the mayor, who was on site. A specialized company was hired.
These torrential downpours were very localized. In Sierck-les-Bains, one resident recorded 5 cm of rain per square meter in a few hours on Monday evening. "Almost the equivalent of a month's rain," he summarized.
Le Républicain Lorrain
