This past weekend, the Poitou Charentes and the Vendée have been blasted by an exceptional storm – called Xynthia with winds of up to 159 Km per hour.
The storm has caused devastation, particularly on the coasts, with serious flooding, partly also due to Spring tides. The centre of La Rochelle was especially badly damaged by this freak storm.
Unfortunately, over 50 people from this area have lost their lives, and inevitably the damage caused to property has been significant. The last serious storm of this magnitude was at the end of 1999, between Christmas and the New Year, when a serious storm on a similar course to this one, (en-route from Spain & Portugal), caused havoc over a 72 hour period.
As a nation France has declared the event a “national disaster” and promises have been made to release funds to help communities rebuild. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy has today visited the storm-battered Atlantic coast. Many of the casualties on the French coast drowned, while those elsewhere were hit by parts of buildings or falling trees.
Peter Elias
http://www.allez-francais.com/
The storm has caused devastation, particularly on the coasts, with serious flooding, partly also due to Spring tides. The centre of La Rochelle was especially badly damaged by this freak storm.
Unfortunately, over 50 people from this area have lost their lives, and inevitably the damage caused to property has been significant. The last serious storm of this magnitude was at the end of 1999, between Christmas and the New Year, when a serious storm on a similar course to this one, (en-route from Spain & Portugal), caused havoc over a 72 hour period.
As a nation France has declared the event a “national disaster” and promises have been made to release funds to help communities rebuild. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy has today visited the storm-battered Atlantic coast. Many of the casualties on the French coast drowned, while those elsewhere were hit by parts of buildings or falling trees.
Peter Elias
http://www.allez-francais.com/
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