Phone in hand to immortalize the scene, Nigel walks around torn trees, damaged vehicles, blown roofs.
Eyes wide open, the teenager from Alfortville keeps repeating: "I really could have died!"
“At only 13, she found herself with two friends, under a simple umbrella, in the epicenter of the storm that swept through Val-de-Marne this Saturday.
Firefighters had to intervene 78 times in the department.
“We couldn't breathe because it was blowing so hard, we were soaked to the bone, everything flew away, there was hail, we were really scared,” she recalls.
While walking this Sunday rue de Grenoble, the young girl and her mother cannot believe it.
This spectacle of desolation is the home of Carole and Damien, two neighbors who stick together.
Their residence, the most affected in Val-de-Marne, is devastated.
The 600 square meter roof of a building tore off and ended its course in the building opposite.
“The car, there, it was moved a meter to the side!
"
"This is the roof window of my stairwell," Carole laments, pointing to a huge window in the middle of the lawn.
“Look at the trees, they are like cut in half.
The car, there, it was moved a meter to the side!
The facade of the building opposite is partially destroyed, while two workers are busy on the roof to secure what they can.
Alfortville, this Sunday morning.
In the area of rue de Grenoble, the damage is significant.
It will take days to clear and repair.
Laure parny
A perforated shutter on the first floor attracts the attention of all onlookers.
“This is where our most seriously injured neighbor was located,” says one resident.
A very heavy piece of the roof opposite was embedded in its shutter and its window, it received glass in the face.
The lady will have to be operated on at the Cochin hospital in Paris.
The only other injured from Alfortville moves with a cane in the residence.
He slipped because of the large amount of water in the building and in the parking lot.
Crisis unit at Alfortville town hall
“We will immediately put together a case and ask for a natural disaster order. Given the damage, it will cost a lot of money, ”says Luc Carvounas, the mayor (PS) of Alfortville. This Saturday evening, a crisis unit was set up urgently in the town hall, and this Sunday morning the elected officials were already coming for the second time to listen to the needs of the inhabitants. "We have not heard from the lessor Batigère-Espace of social housing since the storm, it is unacceptable, I will summon them tomorrow (
Editor's note: this Monday
)" storm the elected, who had to bring a security company to protect tenants' property.
“They don't do any maintenance here, it doesn't even surprise me that the roof is gone,” says Aboubacar.
He must have spent the night with his aunt, with his three children.
He is one of the inhabitants of the twelve apartments on the 5th floor who no longer have a roof over their heads.
“It was awful that moment, with the noise, the screams, my three children were very scared and we are all in shock.
Even the shutters are gone: all our things and our papers are soaked.
The family are expected to stay with relatives for a few days, but hope for a quick solution, allowing the children to continue attending school normally.
In the city, in addition to the street furniture torn off, two major sports facilities were damaged and will have to remain closed: the sports center and the Cosec Léo-Lagrange.
The roof of the supermarket collapsed in Noiseau
In Noiseau, part of the roof of the Intermarché collapsed on Saturday, leading to the temporary closure of the store.
“Fortunately the creaks that preceded made it possible to evacuate everyone, no one was injured, reassures the mayor (LR), Yvan Femel.
In our small town alone, there are about ten uprooted trees!
"
Noiseau, this Saturday evening.
About a fifth of the roof of the Intermarché de Noiseau collapsed, fortunately leaving no injuries.
DR
The city of Champigny-sur-Marne was also badly affected, with many streets and cellars flooded.
At 10 p.m. this Saturday, 48 streets in the town no longer had electricity.
In Créteil, there too many trees were uprooted.
Some even fell on houses but again, fortunately, without causing any victim.
As in the rest of the municipalities, the work of the technical services, mobilized much of the night, allowed the opening on time of all the polling stations this Sunday.
All roads now reopened to traffic
The roads that had been flooded were all able to reopen to traffic on Sunday.
The same goes for public transport.
The departments of the departmental council worked part of the night to clear the trees that hindered the passage of the TVM in Choisy-le-Roi or the T7 and T9 trams.
Créteil, this Saturday evening.
This house was badly damaged by a fallen tree.
DR
The department's parks were obviously affected by the storm, even if some are intact and may have remained open.
“Those with the most trees uprooted are located at Valenton, at the Plage Bleue, Champ-Saint-Julien, Villeneuve-Saint-Georges and the Saussaie-Pidoux park or the Plaine des Bordes in Chennevières, our agents work there ”, specifies the departmental council.
The interdepartmental park of Choisy will remain closed all this Sunday, the time to evacuate branches and to secure everything.
⚠️ Yesterday, at the end of the afternoon, the elements broke out ⛈ over a large part of the country, causing a disaster ...
Posted by Marie-Christine Ségui on Saturday, June 19, 2021
In Ormesson too, the floods were significant and five families had to be relocated to the hotel while the insurance companies intervened.
The cities and the department are however expecting other unpleasant surprises on Monday. The operation of certain nurseries, schools and other public services could be severely affected by the consequences of the floods.
