00:00Where in the world can you find the tower Eiffel to just a few kilometers from the tree tree?
00:05Yes, you have seen it.
00:07Las Vegas.
00:08In this city, we consume 27,000 kilos of crevettes per day
00:12and we celebrate about 150 marriages every 24 hours.
00:17But here's the most fascinating.
00:19A hidden world is just below all these jolies neon.
00:26Welcome to Vegas number 2.
00:28This is not the spectacle to which you are used, but it's also incredible.
00:33I'm talking about a vast network of tunnels
00:34which extends to more than 965 kilometers
00:37traversing the ground of the city in all senses
00:40and built to evacuate the water of the most intense inondations.
00:43You have heard it.
00:44Inondations.
00:45Las Vegas is an artificial city built in the middle of the desert of Morave
00:49where the average temperature in summer is of 37,8 degrees Celsius.
00:54With this heat, it is not surprising that the water is rare.
00:58Las Vegas has limited resources in water.
01:01So 90% of all its water comes from Colorado.
01:05The flood and the flood from the neige and the rocks
01:08are traveled by pipelines to Las Vegas
01:11to more than 160 kilometers of distance.
01:14The water is so precious that the owners of the city
01:17are sanctioned if they surpassed their quotas.
01:20For example, they were emptying their pelouses.
01:22And yet, the urbanists have had to create a gigantic system
01:26to make those inondations no damage.
01:29Las Vegas has really traveled a long path since its early days.
01:34A desert is rarely a place where the immobiliers come and say
01:38We are going to build a mega-ville here.
01:40But the south of Nevada was a region rich in gold,
01:43in gold and in other types of minerals.
01:45And it was located between Los Angeles and Silver Lake City
01:49which, at the turn of the last century,
01:50were a pretty promising market market.
01:53There was only one thing missing.
01:54The water.
01:56The promoters thought that if we could find the water in the region
01:59it would be fertile and rich.
02:02They found a solution to capture it,
02:04but they found another problem.
02:10Generally, in the desert, when it rains, it's averse.
02:13The region receives about 10 centimeters annually
02:17but 75% of all this water falls in a few hours.
02:21And it's the chaos.
02:22The dry land are unable to absorb everything.
02:25And the authorities have therefore built a second village.
02:30Today, Las Vegas is one of the most visited cities in the United States.
02:35It's classed in sixth grade.
02:37It's about 30 millions of visitors every year.
02:40And it's also the world capital of entertainment.
02:44So yes, the authorities had to find a solution
02:47to prevent everything from falling in every time it was raining.
02:53It's not always been like that.
02:55The worst inundation of the history of Las Vegas
02:57was produced in the 1990s.
02:59A huge storm hit the city.
03:01And because of the deluge that made nearly 20 millions of dollars
03:04of damage,
03:04more than 300 people have been displaced.
03:07All this happened during the season of La Mousson,
03:10known for its strong winds.
03:12The valley of Las Vegas is niched between mountains,
03:16a little like a giant bowl,
03:18and when it rains,
03:19all the water flows from the urban area.
03:22After the flood of 1990s,
03:25the authorities have taken the things in mind
03:27and have begun to build the infrastructure
03:29that we talked about.
03:30Today,
03:31these tunnels are quite robust
03:33to face everything that the desert reserve.
03:37Las Vegas is incontestably
03:39one of the most beautiful cities
03:41of the planet.
03:41And it is known to be
03:43one of the most luminous places on Earth.
03:45In 2010,
03:47the NASA published an image
03:48taken by the astronauts
03:50of the International Space Station.
03:52The crew was stupéfait
03:53to see how much these light bulbs
03:55appear clearly.
03:56In fact,
03:57Las Vegas even more intensely
03:59than densely populated areas
04:01such as Hong Kong and Tokyo.
04:03But even though the city is very luminous
04:05to the surface,
04:06the network of tunnels
04:07which is located below it
04:08is rather sombre.
04:10For hundreds of people,
04:11these tunnels are a foyer.
04:13Some live for more than a decade.
04:16There are entrées
04:17to the tunnels everywhere
04:18in the city.
04:19They pass through
04:19the hotel hotels
04:21such as the Cesar Palace,
04:22the Rio,
04:23the Flamingo,
04:24and so on.
04:25In some tunnels,
04:26it is necessary
04:26to move forward
04:27while in others,
04:29a giant could walk.
04:30They are of course
04:31humid and dark.
04:32And they do not only
04:33prevent the floods,
04:34they inhabit
04:35dynamic communities.
04:37Here is Paul.
04:39He is one of the most famous
04:40characters in the
04:41Labyrinth Souterrain
04:42of Las Vegas.
04:43He lived in these tunnels
04:44for three years.
04:45Now,
04:46he returns every time
04:47someone needs help
04:48to get out.
04:51During his first month
04:52in the tunnels,
04:53Paul was welcomed
04:54by a veteran group.
04:56He quickly realized
04:57that this city
04:58in form of a labyrinth
04:59had its own
05:00social rules
05:01that he had to respect.
05:02The one who is
05:03is immediately
05:04placed at the door.
05:06Each tunnel
05:07has its own
05:08customs,
05:09rituals
05:09and some non- officials
05:11who conduct
05:12the operations.
05:13At their arrival,
05:14the new people
05:14usually sleep
05:15on a lit
05:16at the entrance
05:16of a tunnel.
05:17Their work
05:18is to watch
05:19and to signal
05:20every suspect.
05:20S'ils ne respectent
05:22pas les règles,
05:23ils risquent de constater
05:24à leur réveil
05:24que leurs affaires
05:25ont mystérieusement
05:26disparu.
05:30La vie
05:30dans la ville labyrinthe
05:32a son lot
05:32de bizarreries
05:33qui rappellent la vie
05:34au-dessus.
05:35Certaines personnes
05:36apportent des chaises,
05:37des lits,
05:38des tables
05:38et même des barbecues.
05:40En gros,
05:41tout ce qui peut être
05:42récupéré sur les trottoirs
05:43et dans les bennes
05:44pour améliorer le confort.
05:46Il y a juste
05:47un problème.
05:48Les tunnels
05:48ont tendance
05:49à absorber les eaux
05:50de crues,
05:51donc il est nécessaire
05:52de tout surélever
05:53de quelques centimètres.
05:54Vous verrez donc
05:55des lits
05:56et des bibliothèques
05:57perchés comme sur des échasses
05:58à l'abri des eaux
05:59qui montent.
06:01Quand les habitants
06:02sentent la pluie approcher,
06:03ils se précipitent
06:04pour rassembler
06:05tout ce qu'ils veulent
06:06protéger
06:06et ils transportent
06:07tout ça vers les sorties
06:08des tunnels.
06:09Il n'y a pas du tout
06:10d'eau potable là-dessous
06:12et l'électricité
06:13ne provient que des piles
06:14et des batteries.
06:15C'est la mission
06:15de Paul aujourd'hui.
06:16Il distribue de l'eau,
06:18de la nourriture
06:18et des lampes de poche
06:19à quiconque en a besoin.
06:21En plus de cela,
06:22il informe les gens
06:23qu'il est là
06:24pour aider tous ceux
06:25qui cherchent un moyen
06:25de sortir des tunnels
06:26mais se sentent coincés.
06:29Et le plus fou ?
06:30Le nom Las Vegas
06:31provient de l'espagnol
06:32et signifie
06:33les prairies.
06:34Mais c'est un désert maintenant,
06:36n'est-ce pas ?
06:37Et bien, à l'époque préhistorique,
06:39Las Vegas
06:39était en fait humide
06:40et verdoyant.
06:42Les sources de Las Vegas
06:44étaient autrefois situées
06:45en surface
06:45et tout était vert.
06:47Avec le temps,
06:48les marées sont descendues
06:49sous terre
06:50et la vallée est devenue aride
06:51et l'est restée
06:52jusqu'à aujourd'hui.
06:56Tandis que vous profitez
06:57du soleil du Nevada
06:58au Cesar Palace,
07:00toute une communauté dynamique
07:01vit et s'active
07:02juste au-dessous
07:03du célèbre hôtel.
07:04L'explorateur urbain
07:06Drew Binsky
07:06a exploré ces tunnels
07:08énigmatiques
07:08pendant toute une journée.
07:09Son guide était Paul,
07:11car il est dangereux
07:12d'y descendre seul
07:13si vous ne connaissez personne.
07:15Il fait complètement noir
07:16là-dessous
07:17et la plupart des résidents
07:18ne savent pas
07:19s'il fait jour
07:20ou nuit dehors.
07:20Il est assez facile
07:22de perdre la notion du temps.
07:24Aujourd'hui,
07:24Paul est le directeur exécutif
07:26de Shine a Light,
07:27un programme de sensibilisation
07:29à but non lucratif.
07:30Son rôle est d'aider
07:31les personnes
07:32qui vivent dans les tunnels.
07:34L'association aide les gens
07:35dans leur quotidien,
07:36quelle que soit leur situation.
07:37S'ils choisissent
07:39de quitter les tunnels
07:40et de commencer
07:41une nouvelle vie,
07:41Paul les aide
07:42avec une formation professionnelle
07:44et leur montre
07:44comment redémarrer leur vie.
07:47Mais il n'y a pas
07:48que des humains
07:49dans ces mystérieux tunnels.
07:51Ce labyrinthe
07:52est en réalité
07:52un riche habitat.
07:54Des oiseaux
07:54y ont installé leur nid,
07:56une végétation sauvage
07:58émerge des nombreuses fissures
07:59et même quelques poissons
08:01rouges aventureux
08:02ont trouvé leur chemin
08:03vers l'amont
08:03à partir de sources
08:04d'eau extérieures.
08:05Ces tunnels
08:06abritent également
08:07certaines des galeries
08:08de graffiti
08:09les plus originales
08:10des Etats-Unis.
08:11Ces artistes peignent
08:12généralement près des entrées
08:13car c'est là
08:14qu'ils reçoivent
08:15le plus de lumière du jour.
08:16Vous y verrez toute
08:17une panoplie d'oeuvres,
08:18des gribouillages
08:19dénués de sens,
08:20des tags grossiers
08:21mais aussi des oeuvres
08:22raffinées aux lignes
08:23nettes et précises
08:25nées d'un processus
08:26de réflexion
08:26bien visible
08:27et épousant
08:28des styles proches
08:29de ceux des peintres
08:30George Braque
08:31ou Fernand Léger.
08:33Qui aurait cru
08:34que Las Vegas
08:34avait tant à offrir
08:35au-dessous de tout ce clinquant ?
Comments