Along the Roya, houses are gutted -

M. Bernouin / ANP / 20 Minutes

  • An airlift is organized to supply the village of Tende with water and basic necessities and to evacuate those who require it.

  • The inhabitants are still in shock from the violence of the bad weather and sometimes feel abandoned.

Four days after the torrents of muddy water, tears of joy flow down Marlene's cheeks.

In front of the Priory of Saint-Dalmas-de-Tende (Alpes-Maritimes), she has just met “her sister of the heart”.

The two young women fall into each other's arms.

They had not heard from each other since the disaster.

Intense reunion in Tende after moments of worry - M. Bernouin / ANP / 20 Minutes

In this hamlet of upper Roya, still cut off from the world on Tuesday, houses and part of the old cemetery were washed away during the night from Friday to Saturday, at the height of storm Alex.

“At one point the water entered the house,” says Marlène, “I was scared, I have a two-month-old baby.

We took advantage of a lull to take refuge with a friend.

Now we will take the information to see if we are repatriated, but we do not want to abandon the others.

"

“We experienced a bombardment!

"

The evacuations by air have started for the sick and the most fragile from an improvised "drop zone" next to the town hall of Tende, which can be reached from Saint-Dalmas by 4x4, by bike or on foot.

"It's a health airlift, we had to manage some emergencies, now things are better" summarizes Morgan Milano, head of the pharmacy at Tende hospital.

"We are in the process of repatriating the 70 residents of the nursing home to the establishments of Menton".

This Tuesday noon, fifteen people, including young children, fly aboard an army Puma.

In the din of takeoff, walkie-talkie in hand, the mayor of Tende awaits his helicopter to deliver this radio in person to the inhabitants of an isolated hamlet, where the telephone is still not available.

“We experienced a bombardment!” Testifies Jean-Pierre Vassalo.

From 11 p.m. Friday, the rain intensified and the houses were leaving one after the other.

"La Roya in fury tears everything in its path, Tende and its 2,000 inhabitants find themselves plunged into darkness.

"Repair the 20,000 volt line"

Since then, electricity has gradually returned, and with it the telephone network.

This Tuesday, Enedis again mobilized six helicopters to assemble fifty technicians and equipment to Tende.

The generators are in place, but we still need to repair the 20,000 volt line washed away with the bridges and the roadway.

Enedis is working to restore power where the power cables were torn off by the floods - M. Bernouin / ANP / 20 Minutes

Power should be restored everywhere in a matter of days, but it will take months to rehabilitate the road.

For the Tendasques, as for all the inhabitants of Roya, hope is on the side of the railway, whose route has been almost spared.

“More than ever, says a resident, it is our lifeline”.

"We have been forgotten"

Here, many have felt abandoned.

They saw the villages of Tinée and Vésubie on television, the elected representatives on the spot.

And found the time long before seeing the first helicopters arrive.

“We have been forgotten when we are the hardest hit valley!

»Carole resumes.

The village of Tende is not accessible by road or by train - M. Bernouin / ANP / 20 Minutes

“Zero helicopter, zero contact until Saturday evening.

Twenty-four hours, do you realize?

It is thanks to the radios of the agents of the Mercantour park that we were able to reach the gendarmes of PGHM, affirms this resident of Tende.

Today we really need the authorities to do their job!

"

Now telephone communications are passing - with certain operators at least - electricity is gradually coming back, running water too, an airlift is being organized but for some, the damage is done.

“There are a lot of people who are in psychological distress, observes Samia Lahya, referring doctor at the medico-psychological unit of Vaucluse, who came to reinforce the Alpes-Maritimes.

It looks like war scenes in places, it's a situation of great catastrophe.

The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron is expected this Wednesday afternoon in these isolated valleys.

Nice

Storm Alex: Burials swept away and mausoleums gutted, in cemeteries "there is nothing to rebuild"

Nice

Storm Alex: Emmanuel Macron will travel to the Alpes-Maritimes on Wednesday

  • Miscellaneous

  • Society

  • Severe weather

  • Storm