Floods (inondations Part III and last

Floods (inundations) 2005 Part III and end.
As I recall, I broke off to have a nice Sunday lunch! Back to the floods, and start off by paying the compliment that France Meteo had got it all very well taped for the events of Mon/Tuesday. On the Wednesday, I woke up to find the sun shining, as though nothing had happened. True, the radio told me that roads,airports,railways were still closed, schools etc as well, but that Meteo France were quite clear – back to normal from today! Only slight problem, according to them, on the horizon, was a little thunderstorm which seemed to be blocked over the Mediterranean, about 20kilometres from the “Grau de Roi” (a resort some 20km’s from my village) but this wasn’t expected to give any problems!
I set off on my way to find out about replacement monitors for the PC (as I explained in part II. On my return home, I was surprised to find the kitchen full of water, and drips coming from the roof. Never mind, clean it up (the house is some 250 years old) and get on with life. The cat was nowhere to be seen, and around 12 noon I understood why!
The sky suddenly went black, the lightning started flashing, and the radio started garbling that Meteo France had changed its mind, and we were back on RED alert!
OK – close everything down again, batten the hatches, pull up your zip on your trousers, and ignore! And off we went!
I was happy that BB (Brit Bulldog) and wife, with caravan etc had been lucky enough to get out on the Monday, cutting their holiday short because of a death in the family in UK.
I didn’t fancy their chances towing their largish caravan in the conditions since Monday night, and all camp-sites in the Herault had been evacuated (forcibly if necessary).
Well, France Meteo insisted that this particular storm would make it’s way towards the region “Bouche du Rhone” and Marseilles (about 150km from here)-we almost believed them, but we recalled the last occasion, a couple of years ago, and kept an eye open.
Vauvert (my village) had apparently become Marseilles, and would remain so until Friday morning!
Areas where we had been with Chippie (my mate) and Tinkerbelle just 4 weeks before to visit Wacky-Backy and family on holiday (a village called called “SAUVE”) was completely flooded! Only 3 weeks ago WB and fam. Had been obliged to leave because of forest fires, and now the place was under water! It had “globally warmed” and “globally wetted” within 3 weeks. Mind you, the logic is there – if it burns, you need water, but NOT 3 weeks later!
We found out later that the whole area had taken between 700mm and 900mm of rain PER SQUARE METRE in 24 hours – normally the amount which falls in around 2 months!
I will leave you to imagine the chaos!
Strangely, having put down sheets and blankets, I didn’t have any more leaks, and the electricity was cut off, overall, for about 15 minutes over the whole week!
Certainly not a lot if you look at New Orleans, or maybe what might come to N. Carolina, as I write, but more than enough for us this year!
The amusing things are slowly coming to light. Today, Saturday, a loudspeaker van came around the village to tell us that we could now drink the tap water (nobody had told us you couldn’t – so maybe I’ve got cholera or something – doesn’t matter, I’ll just put it on the list of all the other ailments I’m suffering from)!
Sadly, the sale of local oysters and mussels, and other little shellfish, has been suspended, too much muck having been raked up by the storms.
Sadly too (for the people who must suffer my e-mail missives, and for myself) I am not only alive, but on-line and with a different monitor screen, full of life!
That was my account, any questions – ask them, any cheques to help – send them!
I hope my contacts in N. Carolina will miss the worst, but that only means, really, that I’m wishing it all on somebody else!
Bye for now, next thing coming up should be my promised menu with recipes and various little notes, before I get down to those things a lot of you seem to like, my series this autumn/winter will be entitled “TALES FROM MANY CITIES” and will have personal experiences in places like Berlin-West, Paris, Munich, etc., much in the style of my already published “London” tale (see in the archive section of http://marquisdugalipot.blogspot . If you are already a reader of that, then you can push the delete button when you receive this on your own e-mail address. I will close by guaranteeing my favourite niece, “Yankee-girl” the continuance of her own PL (personal letter). They are not fit for general consummation!!

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