Several hailstorms have hit the northeast of Béarn, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, this Saturday, May 3, in the afternoon and evening. Some large, large harshs have caused significant damage to several farms. The anti-Great device did not work, for lack of money.
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“I was in the tractor with my brother, we were afraid of our life. We thought that everything was going to fart through the windows, they were pebbles that fell on the cabin.” This young Béarnais farmer has not yet recovered. Saturday, May 3, when he was in his fields, a hail storm fell above his land.
Houses fallen, pierced agricultural buildings, crushed crops, hailstorms have spared nothing in a corridor that crossed the Madiran sector, northeast of the Pau region. BEDEILLE, LOMBIA, MORLAAS, several small villages have been affected.
In this sector of viticulture, cereal production and breeding, a hundred hectares are affected, 20 % of production, according to FDSEA 64 figures. A breeder has also lost 500 chickens. “”It is catastrophic towards Lombia, we can clearly see the passage zone of the hailstorm, there is a field cut in half in the middle “, reports another young farmer.
The roof of this hangar was riddled with a hole under the impact of the hailstones. Lombia, (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) • © France 3 Pau Sud-Aquitaine
“All these repercussions, we could reduce them”assures Corinne Téty, president of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques FDSEA, during a visit to the farmers who were victims of the bad weather of last weekend. Many of them share their misunderstanding and anger: the anti-grip system in place in the department has not been triggered
The operations of the sector are however equipped with generators in Vortex (formerly called anti-grêle canons), but they were not triggered during the last bad weather. “The problem comes from the lack of funding”, justifies The president of FDSEA, which is also responsible for Adelfa, the departmental association of studies and fight against atmospheric plagues.
The budget devoted to the anti-Great system is 110,000 euros in the department, which makes it possible to finance 15 annual alerts. However, in practice, there are more than twenty a year.
The Pyrénées-Atlantiques department has 52 generators in Vortex like this to fight against hailstorms. • © France 3 Pau Sud-Aquitaine
-The Department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, with 52 generators distributed in culture areas, depends on the headquarters of the Anelfa association based in Toulouse which works in connection with Météo France. The anti-Great devices are triggered from a risk of 20 % hail, but not in Béarn where the threshold is 30 % for lack of means. However, the risk was 28 % on Saturday May 3.
For lack of budget, we were forced to set up the percentage of the trigger rate of the anti-grêle system.
Corinne Nousty,President FDSEA 64
“It takes an awareness!”. Corinne Onty, president of the FDSEA, appeals to donations to finance the anti-GRECH system which is of service to farmers as well as to individuals in the event of bad weather; • © France 3 Pau Sud-Aquitaine
“For years, the risk rate was triggered at 20 % and we were forced to increase to 30 %. And today, to the nearest two, there are all this heavy damage in the department”, regrets the manager.
In the department neighboring Hautes-Pyrénées, also victim of bad weather, the device worked well, “Because the budget is higher, 150,000 euros”, Assures Guy Arrabeu, an Abere farmer, who hosts a generator on his farm. “”In a department, it may seem enormous, but it is little, which makes me hallucinate when you see the damage “.
An ubiquitous situation that pushes Béarnais farmers to use donations, even individuals. For Corinne Téty, it is necessary “An awareness of everyone, whether mayors or inhabitants, farmers have already become aware of these generators.”
It is necessary to become aware, because we have a way to protect ourselves, which is not necessarily reliable at 100 %, but it is a means which has proven itself and which does not pollute.
Corinne Nousty,President FDSEA 64
A device that can also be useful for individuals who live in rural areas during bad weather.
Vortex generators broadcast a silver iodide solution mixed with acetone added to gas in the atmosphere. Their action makes it possible to reduce the size of hailstones by 50 %, according to a study.
The call for donations was launched by Adelfa, more info on the site anelfa.ass.com
