“The problem is insurance”: in Saintes, residents facing an exceptional flood

“The water is seeping in from all sides… Through the walls, the floors, the sewers,” testifies Christophe, 51, one of the rare Saintais who has not left his home and his street located a stone’s throw from the station. Sub-prefecture of Charente-Maritime, Saintes has been fighting for almost a week against exceptional floods close to the “hundred-year flood” of 1982, when the Charente river reached the 6.84 m mark.