It is one of the sectors most affected by the wave of flooding that the Southwest has been experiencing in recent days, under the effect of storm Justine and high tides.
This Wednesday evening, in Gironde, the levels of the Garonne continued to rise.
In the morning, five houses were evacuated in the areas most exposed to Réole, a town located an hour's drive south-east of Bordeaux.
"We had largely anticipated this flood precisely to avoid finding ourselves in an emergency," explains Bruno Marty, the mayor.
Here, the inhabitants are used to the vagaries of the river and even if it is not particularly funny, you just have to wait for the water to come down.
To be frank, there is still a lot of worry and worry.
"
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“We have 40 cm of water in our ground floor but we had time to bring everything upstairs.
We momentarily leave our house because, unlike our neighbors, we do not have access to the back which would allow us to go out.
We'll be back in a few days, ”says Mariette, with a fatalistic brown.
Since the start of the spectacular rise in water levels, many media have been walking their cameras and microphones on the majestic metal bridge that spans the Garonne.
“This is the ideal site to realize that the water is not very far from the top of the dikes.
In places, they were even submerged, ”explains Johan, an amateur photographer, showing the area most affected on the other side of the bridge on the left bank.
Evacuation of 80 people in Port-Sainte-Marie
It is an immense agricultural plain where we can also guess the long alleys of poplars that run along the river.
Some hamlets are completely cut off from the world, surrounded by the waters of the Garonne.
“I don't really know how I'm going to get home,” wonders Noémie in front of the warning signs.
The route of this banking framework is strewn with obstacles: “There is only one road still practicable.
It's a detour that everyone takes.
It takes more than an hour to do less than two kilometers.
"
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As a precaution, the town hall of Barie, a village of 300 souls, was closed and the municipal team found refuge in a village on the slopes: “Everyone here knows that the Garonne can get out of its bed.
The inhabitants mostly stayed at home, protecting their belongings upstairs.
Fortunately, we do not have to deplore major damage ”, underlines Bernard Pagot, the mayor.
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“During the great flood of 1981, Barie looked like Venice.
We traveled with boats in the streets.
This time, it will not happen but we came close to the remake, ”breathes Michel, a retiree from the area.
Upstream of the river, 70 km away, security operations are more spectacular, with the preventive evacuation of 80 people in the middle of the afternoon in Port-Sainte-Marie, a town in Lot-et-Garonne, department placed this Wednesday afternoon in red vigilance, while several dikes threatened to break.