Man swept away by river Loire as floods hit France

By Antony Paone

LES PONTS-DE-CÉ, France, Feb 18 (Reuters) – A man trying to navigate the swollen river Loire has been swept away, officials said on Wednesday, as much of western France was placed under high alert for floods, with yet more heavy rain expected after over a month of bad weather.

Four départements are under red alert – the highest level – with 13 more under orange alert, meaning major to significant flooding is occurring or expected within the next 24 hours. On Thursday, the number of areas on orange alert will rise to 20.

Search operations were underway to find the missing person but considering the flow and speed of the Loire after such heavy rains “there is objectively little chance of finding that person,” senior official Francois Pesneau told local media.

The 53-year-old man fell off a small boat or a kayak in Chalonnes-sur-Loire, south of the city of Angers, BFM TV reported.

Nearby in Les Ponts-de-Cé, a small town also south of Angers, small, makeshift wooden walkways have been built so people can walk around streets flooded by the Loire river.

“Right now, you can see the water level rising, rising, rising,” dental technician Sebastien Grassiot said.

Resident Thierry Fournier was stacking wood planks in front of his home.

“I’m building a small flood barrier to keep the water from coming too far into the garden,” he said. “I don’t know if it’ll stop it, but hey, at least we’re doing something.”

Some residents stressed it was not the first time the Loire, and other rivers, flooded.

“We old-timers in the neighbourhood are used to these floods,” said retiree Jean-Pierre Bondu, who protected his door with marine plywood.

But French Environment Minister Monique Barbut stressed climate change was at play.

The level of humidity in soils in France was unseen since 1959, after more than 30 days of bad weather, she told parliament.

“Today we must deal directly with the consequences of the flooding,” she said on Tuesday. “In a second phase, we will need to think about ways to strengthen our resilience to large‑scale climate events … the excessive artificialisation of land plays an important role … we will need to limit it.”

Spain, Portugal and Britain are among other European countries badly hit by flooding this year due to unusually heavy rain.

(Reporting by Antony Paone, Stephane Mahé and Ingrid Melander; writing by Ingrid Melander; editing by Philippa Fletcher, Charlotte Van Campenhout)