It was October 2, 2020 . Severe bad weather hit the Alpes-Maritimes as storm Alex passed. The impressive floods that followed swept away everything in their path: roads, bridges, houses. The toll is heavy. And it is first and foremost human: we deplore ten dead and eight missing people. The damage is estimated at at least one billion euros.
According to experts, this is the natural disaster that caused “the most damage in mainland France since World War II” . About 85 kilometers of roads have been washed away or damaged, 20 bridges have been destroyed or are unusable, water and electricity networks need to be rebuilt. And that’s without counting the 2,500 houses appraised including 420 condemned.
Open wound
The valleys of Vésubie, Roya and Tinée, in the hinterland of Nice, found themselves isolated, some 13,000 people cut off from the world. A year later, “we are still in an open wound. But fortunately, there is work, colossal, indescribable” , greets Jean-Pierre Vassalo , mayor of Tende to AFP. Xavier Pelletier, delegated prefect in charge of reconstruction, completes by insisting on the fact that “the priority has been the restoration of all the functionalities allowing the return to a ‘normal life’ – mobility, connection to water, electricity, sanitation – while ensuring the protection of goods and people by redefining risk areas “.
Jean-Pierre Vassalo sees it clearly: “we are in the reconstruction phase, far from the day after the disaster where we said to ourselves’ For five years , we will have nothing more ‘”! In fact, along the reestablished roads, sometimes on a single lane, along the Roya, dozens of agents are working to reinforce the arches of a SNCF bridge, evacuate the carcasses of cars, rebuild a dike.
A “fast but also exemplary” reconstruction
This phase must be “fast but also exemplary” , explains the deputy prefect. And it is already going quickly, he assures, “thanks to the mobilization of communities, private operators, with the help of associations. The State has kept its commitments by co-financing, by being a facilitator on regulatory procedures, but also by ensuring its primary role of protection through the more than 2,500 houses appraised “. Objective: to complete 90% of the reconstruction works by the end of 2022.
However, opening up the valleys will require the complete reconstruction of the road network, far from be the case. And “some development projects require more time, such as the realization of the lower Vésubie and Paganin tunnels in Roya” , recognizes the delegated prefect. It also implies “a multiplication” of train frequencies and schedules “better suited” to residents, schoolchildren or tourists, pleads for his part the mayor of Tende. Beyond that still, “we need economic development projects, improve mobility, develop tourism and accommodation, or even promote excellent agriculture” , insists Xavier Pelletier, to bring these battered valleys back to life.
Difficulties with insurance
Before achieving this, difficulties persist, especially with insurance. Hélène Rey, manager of two grocery stores in Breil-sur-Roya, has lost her optimism. “I am desperate” , she explains to AFP: “After the storm, we were in contact with the expert of our insurance. I then sent emails without response. (…) We had our first official meeting on site in February 2021. (…) We received an offer from the insurance which was ridiculous”. She estimates the amount of work at 500,000 euros, but the offer covers only a third of the amount according to her. “Our expert has just made an offer again, we are waiting.”
However, the deputy prefect judge, of his side, that the relationship with insurance is not so bad. “Thanks to the support unit set up within the prefecture and the partnership with the French Insurance Federation, we have supported more than a hundred disaster victims, he asserts. There are still situations that have not been reported to us. “ This is why he calls them people “who have problems with their insurance file” to contact the prefecture.
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