Description:

Just hours after the world breathed a sigh of relief that Hawaii had been saved from an expected tsunami, western and central France was being hit by an explosive storm.  Ten years and two months after the Atlantic storm Martin lashed France with hurricane force winds, a new and almost as powerful storm named Xynthia whipped up the seasonal high tides to hit the coastline with devastating 159kmh gusts and severe flooding.

Forecasters had tracked the storm through Portugal and Spain, and put the four departments of Charente Maritime, Vendee, Deux Sevres and Vienne on red alert, only the second time this severity of warning had been used since the new system was put in place in 2001.  The alert was issued at 4:35 on Saturday 27 February, with the worst of the storm predicted to hit between 3am and 4:25am Sunday morning.  It did so with devastating effect.

There have been 12 deaths recorded in Charente Maritime, with perhaps the most tragic being that of a 10 year old boy, his 6 year old sister and their grandmother at Charron near La Rochelle.  It was out on the coast that damage was most severe, with water breaching and destroying sea defences and flooding residential areas, whilst inland the strong winds damaged trees and buildings, whilst the heavy rain brought localised flooding.

The town of Chatelaillon Plage south of La Rochelle was largely saved from the flooding because of the depth of its huge beach, a good deal of which was washed away by the tidal waters.  Even here though, around 300 residents were given shelter overnight in the local school and salle des fetes.

At Port des Minimes in La Rochelle some 7km of pontoons were either badly damaged or destroyed altogether, the worst damage seen here since the marina was developed in 1972.  Boats were also damaged at the Vieux Port, although not to the same extent as the 1999 storm.  Sea defences took a battering on the islands of Re and Oleron, whilst the Ile d’Aix and Fouras were severely affected by flooding.  Oyster basins at the Port des Barques were also severely damaged.

In Charente Maritime, helicopters made 57 separate rescues, ferrying people to hospital from across the department.  Some 500 pompiers made over a thousand rescues during the night of the storm, and around 400 Army and First Aid workers were deployed to rescue and support victims.  It is estimated that the damage to infrastructure and sea defences in Charente Maritime could run to 135 million euros.

The storm has taken the lives of 53 people across France, and many of the 1 million households cut off from electricity are still waiting for supplies to be restored, including many of the 117,000 people affected in Charente Maritime. 

President Sarkozy has promised 3 million euros in aid for those affected by the storm, and at the same time has promised an investigation into the policy of building in known flood risk areas.  Prime Minister Fillon declared the storm a natural disaster, which will help the flow of aid, and make it easier and quicker for people to claim on their insurance.

Our best wishes go out to those people and families affected by the storm, however great or small their loss.