The first weekend after the strom

[Rochej]

In L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer and La Faute-sur-Mer, lots of external help has arrived. Once on site it is a real shock. As for the 18 municipal officials from Fontenay-le-Comte. "There is enormous damage. When we went to Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm, we saw that the sea had gone back as far inland. Then at laPointe, you know .... "

A little less than a week after the deadly wave that broke through, the streets of la Point are like a battlefield: "bomb holes" before the gates, fences broken, and smeared with mud houses, fences diagonal...

On Monday almost all the service personnel who look after the roads and green spaces in Fontenay answered the call : "We respond as volunteers, not as municipal workers", explains Christophe Souchard, driving a truck. Inside the vehicle, debris of a house gutted by water: mattresses, tables, furniture, old refrigerators, small items of rubbish:

In the narrow streets of la Pointe, rutted tracks criss-cross the terrain; alongside exhausted firefighters, are the heavy traffic of vehicles from ERDF and teir hoists. Fontenay has brought three trucks, a bulldozer, a mini digger and a telescopic machine : "We are not alone," says Jean Richer, head of technical services.

Lots of communities have sent resources, from the South Vendée: Saint Fulgent, Mouilleron-le-Captif, Luçon ... Whenever the volunteers arrive it is a real shock. As Jacques Coulais, another department head who says : "... most astonishing is the strength of water. When you see huge trailers mounted on the terraces ... ".

At the wheel of one of three trucks, Audouin Jerome spent his day making round trips between the devastation the waste deposit area, where the scrap and garbage are piled high : "I saw the images on TV but locally, it is much more staggering in reality. "

And this is just the beginning.

Especially since many occupiers of second homes have not yet had time to see their homes : "Only this weekend they will discover the extent of the disaster, fear Christophe Souchard. Translation: he'll have to pick them. To finish the job.

[Rochej]

Cleaning house

The total count of the storm Xynthia is 29 deaths in Vendée , all from La Faute-sur-Mer. No-one remains on the official list of missing people.

In some areas most affected, there are still 60 cm to one meter of water. There, the pumping operation continues and the water is discharged to the Lay river nearby.

An army of volunteers

This weekend, more than 2 000 volunteers are expected at L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer and La Faute. And their number is above the current needs. Their management will be entrusted to the departmental association of civil protection, the French Red Cross and Catholic Relief Services. This coordinated by the fire services. Volunteers will rid the houses of their bed of mud, silt, plant debris. And will empty parts of their furniture.

The world's roads

The authorities fear a lot of traffic on roads leading to The L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer and La Faute-sur-Mer. Besides the volunteers, they will have to manage the flow of people, their families, second home owners from inspecting the damage ... And the curious "disaster tourists" says Jean-Jacques Brot, the prefect. An order for the Restriction of the movement has been made to "filter" the visitors by the gendarmerie.

A complaint for theft

Since the disaster, there are 200 policemen in the area. And they will not drop their guard this weekend. For they also manage the security of property. So far, the police are dealing with one complaint for theft.

To help, donations by check

There are enough volunteers at the moment. But the prefect said the possibility of supporting the victims by making donations by check payable to "Treasury-Storm Vendée, at the following address: Department Directorate of Public Finance, 26 rue Jean Jaures, 85 024 La Roche-sur-Yon cedex.