PICTURES. Two tornadoes hit the Hauts-de-France region, causing extensive material damage and one minor injury in Bihucourt and Conty. In the aftermath of the terror, the reconstruction begins to be organized.
[Mis à jour le 24 octobre 2022 à 17h09] After the images of desolation, place for mobilization. In the aftermath of the destructive tornadoes that hit the Hauts-de-France region, work began to repair the devastated homes. The ENEDIS group began work on Monday to restore electricity to the village of Bihucourt, in particular removing damaged cables and pylons. Municipal and intermunicipal services to clear the road are also at work. The gendarmes are also on site with the mission of securing the entire site. This Monday morning, after the observation of the disaster, Stéphane Haussoulier, president of the Somme departmental council, called on the Minister of the Interior to ask him for the qualification of “natural disaster” in the municipalities affected to benefit from the specific support fund. provided for such events. Gérald Darmanin wanted to travel to Bihucourt this afternoon to see the damage and provide support to the inhabitants.
This Sunday, October 23, the Hauts-de-France region was violently affected by strong gusts of wind, two tornadoes were even recorded. It is a very rare meteorological phenomenon in France, but it leaves a desolate landscape in its path. Two municipalities were particularly affected by these extremely violent windy episodes, the municipality of Bihucourt, near Arras and the village of Conty, in the Somme. The report carried out this Monday, October 24 is unprecedented: “We have almost 100 homes out of 150 which have been badly affected. Some houses are razed, collapsed, there are torn roofs”, indicated the mayor of Bihucourt, who has a little less than 400 inhabitants. “The church is partly destroyed. […] All axes of the municipality are cut. I have never seen that. We see that on TV, but there, it’s mind-blowing and it happened in a few seconds”, was moved the city councilor at the microphone of France info last night.
The images of the damage from the tornado clearly reflect the amazement that may have gripped the inhabitants. “The phone rang. People were crying on the phone describing the situation,” added the mayor. France Blue collected the testimony of a resident, Didier, whose house was partially destroyed. “Thirty seconds. And then the tornado, and nothing more. Everything exploded everywhere, the roofs blown away. By the time I looked out the window, everything was demolished. I’ve never seen that, entire roofs go through the sky” And to add, obviously shocked by what he experienced: “I saw everything fly. The garbage cans were flying in the sky, the roof tiles were also flying. on his house. Frankly, I lived through something difficult. I still have chills from it. It’s really incredible”.
Images of the tornado in Bihucourt
About 150 people were affected by the disaster, all of whom were accommodated for the night with friends or family. A psychological assistance unit has been set up for the inhabitants of the village. Julien Drancourt, a farm worker living in Bihucourt expressed his anguish at the microphone of The voice of the North, “we don’t believe it, we hope to wake up from this nightmare. There is no longer a village” he worried. One of the Pas-de-Calais firefighters explained to the media FranceBlue the extent of the damage caused by this tornado, reporting “five ravaged streets” and houses that are in danger of collapsing. On BFM TV, mayor of the town, Benoît-Vincent Caille lamented that many residents will not be able to return to live in their homes “for several months”.
A tornado in the Somme
The village of Conty in the Somme was also hit by a tornado. No casualties were to be deplored but the material damage was substantial. Residents are still in shock, many are “stunned” by the violence of the phenomenon. A resident of the town interviewed by BFM TV , described the events, moved, “it’s amazement this morning”. Among the destruction: about thirty houses, a school and a sawmill. A resident of Conty described to the Mail Picard “an apocalyptic vision”.
The prefect of the Somme, Étienne Stoskopf, who came to the scene on Sunday evening, stressed that the Somme was on yellow alert for orange in the afternoon “but that the event was unexpected and above all very localized. We We will wait for the return of Météo France, but we can speak of winds of 150 to 200 km/h“ local media reported. The Germaine-Alix school group was partially destroyed and “will not be repairable” specified the prefect. For her part, Cécile Grévin of the Somme Departmental Council warned that she had alerted the Red Cross but that “everyone has found friends or family with whom to sleep” she rejoiced.
This meteorological phenomenon was preceded by heavy thunderstorms and strong gusts of wind in many municipalities in the northern region of France. Firefighters had to intervene at several sites in the region. In the department of Pas-de-Calais, firefighters counted around thirty interventions. For his part, the PS senator from the Somme, Rémi Cardon, sent a message of support to the inhabitants and the emergency services on the spot via his Twitter account. He also attributed the origin of this heavy rainfall to climate change.
The Keraunos Institute, which lists tornadoes and violent thunderstorms in France, indicated on its site Internetthat several other sites were affected by these strong gusts.
- a gust of 136 km/h was recorded at Boulleville (Eure),
- material damage is to be deplored in the municipality of Beuzeville (Eure),
- Keraunos indicated “damage to vegetation and power cuts in the Saint-Amand-les-Eaux sector (North), as a microburst passed through.”