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Published: January 27th 2009
The storm that is remembered is the storm of 1999. Exactly 10 years later is the next great tempete. Caught unawares last time there was plenty of advance warning for this one.
We are situated in the South eastern portion of Dordogne, most of the devastation was south-west of here, stretching down past Toulouse into Spain. We have experienced more severe winds in Florida and even in Northern Ontario where our cottage is located. However we were on the fringe of this one and there were trees and forests destroyed and lives lost. Our immediate neighbour had the wind catch his satellite dish like a sail, pulling down part of the chimney which, in turn, shifted the tiles on the roof. Surveying the damage he mused that he would have been better off if he hadn't attached the dish so well. Then he would have only had the dish torn away.
We never felt threatened at any time. Part of that is being in a large, well-built stone structure that has withstood storms for at least 250 years. We secured the patio furniture and closed the shutters which you find on most homes here. Where we are staying a
number of planted Cypres were blown over but that will be easily fixed. There was the usual evidence of twigs and branches lying about. We were without electrical power for 10 hours but read by a cozy fire in the wood stove.
It was only while driving around two days later that we saw the results of this storm. Several large trees were uprooted almost at random. Some communities were still without power. Huge generators had been brought in by flatbed trucks and hooked into the power lines to restore electricity. Work crews were cleaning debris from the roads. The Dordogne River was swollen and had flooded neighbouring fields in numerous locations. At Beynac the river covered the docks used by the sightseeing boats and the stairs down to the river were flooded.
France is an old country. more compact than Canada. My sense was they had seen and dealt with worse and that the infrastructure and people had withstood more severe storms before. Cars were out and about. People were gathering at the local bar in Carlux before the power had been restored. Life was resumed quickly. The fete in our village went on as planned the
next day.
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Bill and Carolyn
non-member comment
Survivors, for sure!
The gite owners were lucky to have you on the scene. Glad you made it through theTempete of '09. Great blog* *(Full marks on this one for no mention of food.)