The most devastating storm ever experienced in France.

During the night of February 27th /28th a violent storm named "Xynthia" hit the Vend�e and Charente maritime. It brought considerable damage and killed about 60 people.
The day before the storm, we had been advised of violent winds by M�t�o france which had issued a red alert for our department. They said that the winds would bring considerable damage but on the other hand no evacuation measures were taken for those who lived near to the ocean.
In the south of Charente Maritime where I live , the strong winds didn't cause any serious damages to the people who live on top of hills and far away from the Gironde. We were very lucky compared to the people living near the ocean.
On Friday night M�t�o France advised people to stay inside the houses and wait until the winds decrease in intensity.
My husband and I had planned to drive to St Jean D'Angely just an hour-drive from our house but we cancelled our dinner date to comply with M�t�o France recommendation.
The winds started to blow at about 10.pm but reached their climax from midnight to one o'clock in the morning. Wind gusts reached up to 160kms per hour.
Then we decided to watch a film to loosen up. There was "Gangs of New York" on that night but we really had some difficulties in concentrating on the film as there was such a loud noise inside our house. Early in the morning we were just deprived of electricity but were reconnected by noon.
Along the coast, surprised by high tides some families had to be rescued from their roof-tops. Unfortunately some drowned in their homes. The collapse of the levees on the Atlantic ocean coast led to multiple drownings in the houses, often bungalows built under the sea-level and in estate close to the sea.
The main natural danger in France is
flooding but some retired people's dream is buying a house close to the sea. Living close to estuaries, rivers and the sea can be a threat to millions of people around the world during a period of extreme variability.
There are very few houses along the Gironde from Meschers to Talmont because the area is subject to the risk of flooding. However the village of Les Monards facing the little port was flooded by water coming from the port and the main road. The owner of the restaurant said that they needed about three weeks to restore the kitchen which was badly damaged.
In France flood-proned areas are protected by levees. Most of these works were built in the 17th century in the time of Napoleon and they were built in stages from escavated material.
Inadequate levees couldn't resist a combination of strong winds and a high tide ( coefficient 102 on Sunday morning)
A few years ago the system of vigilance alert didn't exist , in the space of 12 years M�t�o France scientists have really made progress and now we are warned of a potential danger.
Satellite observation and more powerful computers have enabled them to anticipate strong winds and tropical cyclones. However they hadn't anticipated that the sea walls would be destroyed and that water would swamp homes which had been constructed in high-risk flood areas.
People were overtaken in their sleep by rising water and emergency staff searched for survivors for a week.
Local people blame the French authorities for neglecting maintenance of the levees which were inadequate in the night of February 27th /28th and what wasn't emphasized by weather services was the fact that the winds would be combined with a high tide.
If only people living along the coast had been strongly advised to leave their house.....