Nearly 150 people had to be evacuated overnight from Saturday to Sunday from a building housing social housing in Martigues (Bouches-du-Rhône) due to the appearance of cracks, the city announced.
Following apparent cracks in building K of lessor 13 Habitat, putting the solidity of the building at risk with a risk of collapse, the inhabitants of this building and building M, nearly 150 people, were evacuated last night, explained the city in a press release.
We heard a crack then a big boom. I immediately thought of what happened in Morocco, hit the day before by an earthquake in which more than 2,000 people died, told AFP a resident of the evacuated building who preferred to remain anonymous.
It was a resident who heard a crack in the night, with a crack appearing in a stairwell, who alerted the firefighters, according to 13 Habitat.
A municipal order of imminent danger prohibiting access until further notice to these two buildings has been issued. A security perimeter has been positioned prohibiting the movement of pedestrians and vehicles in the surrounding area.
A support unit for the residents concerned has been set up.
All the evacuated people are being rehoused this Sunday evening in the surrounding area, a meeting is planned for Monday morning with them to find a more effective rehousing solution, explained the town hall.
The nearby nursery school will remain closed on Monday but a childcare solution is planned at the elementary school for parents in difficulty, she added.
The building, built in the 1970s, is located in a lively and popular area.
On site, the situation was somewhat tense in the morning, with several residents criticizing the social landlord 13 Habitat, the first public social landlord in Bouches-du-Rhne, for having left the city abandoned.
This is a problem that has been going on for a very long time. My mother’s balcony collapsed two years ago but she had to stay in her home, another resident who preferred not to give her name complained to AFP.
Several people also told AFP that their request for rehousing, due to significant deterioration, remained a dead letter in recent years. Many balconies are currently reinforced with masonry props to hold the building together, noted an AFP correspondent.
According to a well-informed source in the city of Martigues, the municipality had warned 13 Habitat three years ago of the problems of deterioration of the building, asking that work be carried out as a result. The city had even released a million euros with the idea that the lessor would follow.
An observation contested by the lessor who certainly concedes that in this city, the heritage was in poor condition but considers that there was no identified risk and that no procedure in progress indicated that the structure was weakened, affirms AFP Romain Luongo, director of communications 13 Habitat.
The social landlord manages 33,000 housing units in Bouches-du-Rhne, 22,000 of which must soon be renovated as part of a 4 billion euro plan. The works, which should begin at the end of 2024, will last until 2040.