
The ceiling of a high school collapsed during heavy rain in Saint-Clément-de-Rivière, leading to the closure of the establishment and the rehousing of the 100 boarders in a gymnasium.
AI-generated summary
Hérault was placed on red alert on Wednesday September 30 due to very heavy rainfall.
The violent rains of Wednesday September 30 caused significant damage to a high school in Saint-Clément-de-Rivière, north of Montpellier. Hérault was on red alert on Wednesday September 30. The establishment had to be closed and the 100 high school boarders were relocated to a nearby gymnasium.
With the very heavy precipitation, water infiltrated in quantity into the establishment. Part of the high school structure ended up giving way at midday while students were having lunch in the refectory. "We were eating in the canteen and everything suddenly collapsed. The ceiling collapsed and everything fell in the rooms. Lots of water also flowed into the second year students' rooms, even in the dressing rooms. Lots of blinds broke," says this student who is starting her first year at high school.
"I was five centimeters from the roof which fell. I didn't expect the ceiling infrastructure itself to fall suddenly. I admit, it's a bit of a shock", reacts this high school student who "hopes for new infrastructure". Fortunately, the incident did not cause any injuries.
Students slept on camp beds
The high school was evacuated and closed. The interns are relocated a few dozen meters away in a gymnasium lent by the community of municipalities where solidarity has been established. The mayor of Saint-Clément-de-Rivière, Jérôme Pouget, took care of the meals. “We have emergency meals for our elementary schools. There are 200 rations, of things that they don’t necessarily like: beetroot, salad, ravioli. But in any case, we provided them with something to eat this evening,” indicates Jérôme Pouget. The students then slept on camp beds.
Experts are expected on Thursday to assess the damage more precisely. “We are waiting for the red vigilance to be lifted so that the teams can come to work. Hoping that we can mobilize companies urgently this weekend. Or so that from Monday morning, at least, the interns can return to the boarding school. And for catering, we will see how we can measure the impact as soon as the teams have passed,” explains Kamel Chibli, vice-president of the Occitanie region, in charge of buildings. The heavy rains also caused damage to the nursery school.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Expert damage assessment Thursday
Very likely · Within days

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