The storm has passed.
But the driftwood remained.
And by the thousands.
“Like never before”, testifies Eric Lévy, owner of a restaurant on the seaside. In Saint-Laurent-du-Var, the beaches are covered with mountains of branches torn off by storm Alex.
For miles, the Mediterranean took on a brown color.
Wave after wave, the sea brings back logs of wood from the hinterland where torrential floods have swept everything in their path back to the coast.
The coastline is literally submerged.
Among these tree trunks are also empty bottles, tires or gas cylinders.
The authorities secure the area in order to evacuate this hazardous waste.
The cleaning operation will last several months.
The damage is considerable in the Alpes-Maritimes.
“We feared the worst seeing the images in the backcountry,” says Eric.
The strong winds, the raging sea and the torrential rains transformed the landscape throughout the department.
Many restaurateurs now have to repair whatever was damaged during this exceptional weather event.
In the Alpes-Maritimes, the bodies of two victims were found this Sunday.
There are eight missing some, including two firefighters and two elderly people swept away by the collapse of their house in a river.
We also have no news from many other people.
The French army and hundreds of rescuers are deployed to search for the missing, to bring medical means by helicopter to isolated inhabitants and to evacuate some of them.
People who have not heard from their relatives can contact the number 04 93 72 22 22.
