Storm Fabien, which swept through the South West and Corsica, left Monday, December 23, 14,000 French households still without electricity, while transport between the Isle of Beauty and the continent has gradually resumed.
According to the manager of the electricity distribution network Enedis, around 12,000 households, outside Corsica, remained without electricity on Monday around noon, mainly in New Aquitaine. Nearly 200 generators are deployed in the regions concerned. In Corsica, about 2,000 homes were still without electricity Monday morning.
After a weekend of quasi-paralysis where Corsica was cut off from the continent by sea and by air, air and sea links between Corsica and the continent were able to resume. Météo France noted winds reaching up to 216 km / h at Cap Sagro, in Haute-Corse, at the height of the episode.
Flooded airways
Ajaccio airport was hit hard by the storm this weekend, and its runways were flooded. Monday the pumping of water on the tracks continued, "will follow a phase of cleaning then return to service", added Alain Charrier, secretary general of the prefecture of South Corsica, without commenting on a reopening date of the airport.
Faced with this disruption, the company Air Corsica, which operates the vast majority of flights to Corsica in winter, had set up shuttles to transport by coach passengers from Ajaccio to Bastia-Poretta airport. "Even if Ajaccio does not reopen tomorrow," said Luc Bereni, chairman of the board of directors of the company, "we are hopeful of achieving this objective of delivering 100% of customers for Christmas Eve."
Nearly 90 planes chartered
Passengers whose flights were canceled on Saturday or Sunday were able to check in for a departure on Monday or Tuesday, according to Air Corsica, which chartered 87 planes on Monday.
On the boat side, traffic resumed Monday morning, with changes to ships and passenger schedules, however. Corsica Linea, which estimated 6,000 passengers in difficulty over the weekend, scheduled two new crossings on Monday. Rail traffic gradually resumed at noon Monday.
With AFP
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