LIn Gironde again bruised by thunderstorms. As planned by Météo-France, the bad weather struck the department on the night of Tuesday 24 to Wednesday 25 June, from 1 a.m., mainly concentrating on the Arcachon basin and the Medocaine coast. Trees on the ground, cut roads, damaged houses and buildings … The firefighters intervened almost 140 times during the night. If nearly 4,000 Girondin households were deprived of current on Wednesday morning, no one was injured in the end of this first stormy salvo.
On the Arcachon basin side, on a north-south axis, Lège-Cap-Ferret/Arès in Arcachon, La Teste-de-Buch and Gujan-Mestras, the damage is substantial. Example in Arès, at Chantal, 78, already at the maneuver this Wednesday morning to take steps with companies and insurers. “We had just repainted the house, we will have to redo everything. And if it was only to restore a brushstroke, the slate would be light … Two trees went to bed on the roof of the house, another fell on a car.
“We have no more electricity, there are wires hanging everywhere and given the damage, a firefighter advised us to leave. But it is impossible with everything you have to undertake … You know, my father always taught me to raise my head and to rush, there is no point in moping, “puts the retiree into perspective, combining the bad fate at the time when a pruner warns of his passage for the end of the afternoon.
Boats were swept away in Claouey.
Patrice Bouscarrut
A sudden storm
In Arès and Lège, the main roads were cut by this sudden storm. “Our teams worked part of the night to release the roads. We also cleared access to the landing area for the hospital helicopters for ambulances, “said the mayor of Arès Xavier Daney. In one of the villages of Cap Ferret, in Claouey, the boats of the sailing school were carried away. Electric posts and trees were lying on the departmental that runs along the basin at the Lanton.
“The tree fell a few centimeters from our facade. The neighboring houses were less likely ”
The city of Andernos, neighbor of Arès, was not spared by this storm. There was, through the municipality, 70 more or less significant damage points out by municipal services. Trees that were across the road or threatened houses were removed by the technical services on alert since the middle of the night. About fifteen private houses have been damaged by the wind or falls of trees and branches, as well as some oyster huts. “A tree also fell on a power line,” said the city’s work assistant. It was not safe until Wednesday around noon.
Winds at more than 130 km/h
On the side of La Teste-de-Buch, in the south, several streets were also cut. The Cazaux district was the most affected with gusts at more than 130 km/h, and an elderly lady had to be temporarily evacuated due to a tree fell on a house. Several cars were also damaged by large branches or trunks, as well as a motorhome that was in a campsite. “Our teams have been working for 2 in the morning. The priority was to clear the roads, ”it is said in the office of the mayor of La Teste.
In Gujan-Mestras, we find the same scenes of broken branches everywhere in the town and some trees on the ground. A high voltage cable also fell to the ground, avenue de Meyran, and on the golf side, a parasol pine ended on a house. Still in Gujan, at the Verdalle campsite, two poplars fell against a car without doing damage on the tent where campers were sleeping …
As in 1999
Same topo in the Médoc. “It was not a hit, it was a cyclone,” said Laurent Peyrondet, the mayor of Lacanau, still impressed by the intensity of the phenomenon. “We were touched mainly around the lake, on a corridor from the Pointe du Bernos in Lacanau-Ville. The districts, like Talaris and Carreyre, were rather spared, but here, we spent the night clearing the roads. Dozens of trees fell under the strength of the wind, some have broken net, others were uprooted.
“It’s impressive, but fortunately, there were no injuries. We do well, finally “
Houses have also been damaged: roofs torn off, affected facades. In Garriga, at the exit of Lacanau-Ville, a home was even partially crossed by a pine. On the side of municipal equipment, only the gymnasium underwent a flood: “Nothing irremediable, we will clean”, reassures the mayor. The technical services were mobilized from 2:30 a.m. on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday to secure the roads.
Around noon, after a night in the field, the technical services of the city of Lacanau were still on the ground to clear the roads.
J. L.
In the Pèch-Lebre district, by the lake, Yvette Puyou lived a night of anxiety. “We had left the shutters closed with the open windows, that snapped the doors. We woke up suddenly. I immediately thought of the 1999 storm. “The storm only lasted for about hour, but left traces:” My husband was released after the lull with a torch lamp. He saw that a tree had fallen, but it was dark, we saw nothing. It was not until the morning that the damage was seen. Their car, parked in front of the house, was crushed by the tree. The roof lost a few tiles, but the house was narrowly spared. “The tree fell a few centimeters from our facade. The neighboring houses were less lucky. »»
In Lacanau, the first observations after the storm damage.
J. L.
At daybreak, there were many inhabitants to see the damage and to lend a hand to the town hall teams. “It’s impressive, but fortunately, there were no injuries. We are doing well, finally, ”concludes the mayor.
