Xynthia et les Cigognes

Météo France put out the storm warning on the Wednesday evening.

The next two or three days' weather was strangely calm, and it was only when a pair of storks appeared in the grey skies over the village that we guessed that something was very, very wrong.

"Les cigognes ne viennent pas par ici d'habitude"

Ciconia ciconia

Commented René.

"La météo sur la côte doit être bien mauvais..."

That evening, the wind started to howl. In Sainte-Cécile, thoughts turned to the hurricane of October 1987, and "La Tempête du Siècle" of December 1999.

The electricity went out just after 3am. Each rafale increased in intensity, then at 4 am came a tinkling of glass from the kitchen. Investigation showed a triangular hole in a window. Xynthia sent probing banshee fingers of draught through the house. We gathered the battery radio and torches, then started to prepare a plan in case the roof should peel away. This involved putting on warm clothes, and stowing half a dozen teabags in one pocket, just in case the rescue centres had only coffee.

There was no rain during the darkness. The window-panes made a crackling sound. We found out next morning that they were being peppered with salt. [Come on. Ed].

Over the next hour, the worst of the storm passed over the village. Then came sleep, followed by sunrise in a chaotic sky.

There was no electricity for two days, but we escaped lightly.

On Sunday morning, we listened to radio reports of 30 fatalities due to the tidal surge and resulting floods.

Nicolas Sarkozy, Président de la République would visit La Faute sur Mer with a posse of ministers on Monday morning at 11. There would be hand-on-shoulder and "bon courage" from the incumbent of the Palais de L'Elysée, then a rapid analyse to determine blame. The Président would lose no time in determining potential culprits, and the list would include the Usual Suspects: Property promoteurs, who had built on the flood plains behind the dunes and ageing sea-defences; compliant Maires, who had allowed zoning of low-lying land for new-build; any ennemi politique who needed a warning shot fired across their bows...

Philippe de Villiers, Président du Conseil Général (the Département's ruling council) got in first and gave a considered analysis of the causes of the disaster on France-Inter on Sunday: "Trois éléments: un vent exceptionnel, une marée exceptionnelle, et une pression barométrique exceptionnellement basse". He managed to self-publicize only mildly, hardly mentioning at all in his trademark mildly camp aristo timbre that as "organisateur du Vendée Globe [four-yearly round-the-world yacht race], he knew a thing or two about wind. [ He also knows about hot air and quasi-Front National politics, allegedly. Ed].

These were, after all, exceptional circumstances.

We didn't really need an énarque 3-part analysis to remind us of that. But Monsieur de Villiers' support base in Sainte-Cécile and elsewhere in Vendée would have taken considerable comfort from his reassuringly competent analyse.

Click on the Météo-sat pic for a 3-minute view from the ground. [What? Ed]

Lexique:

Marée; Cycle du mouvement de la mer toutes les 12 heures environ.

Enarque; Une personne qui a fait des études à L'Ecole Nationale d'Administration. Un énarque peut devenir préfet, ministre, etc. Obligation après de faire des analyses en trois points. Regardez Wikipédia, vous verrez bien.

France-Inter; Station de radio nationale "medium/highbrow". Un peu l'équivalent de la BBC Radio 4, mais avec plus de musique avant-garde et/ou rétro par moment. Il n'existe pas de John Humpreys, de Humphrey Littleton, de "disques pour une île déserte" ni de "Show de maintenant"...Si vous préférez le highbrow, écoutez plutôt France Culture, station préférée des professeurs baby-boomers en retraite. (de plus en plus nombreux en France.)

Cigogne; regardez la photo!