200,000 cubic meters of muddy water, granite blocks sometimes as big as fridges carried by the waves for hundreds of meters, a mythical village almost completely wiped off the map and – proof of the effectiveness of mountain rescue – no casualties.
Five days after torrential floods ravaged the hamlet of La Bérarde, residents and lovers of the Vénéon valley, a mecca for French mountaineering, still can’t believe it.
200,000 cubic meters of muddy water carrying blocks of granite, sometimes enormous, swept over the hamlet destroying or burying homes like this house of which only the roof emerges.
© William Daniels
At two o’clock in the morning, Friday June 21, the level of the Étançons torrent rose dangerously. At the start of the season, around a hundred summer visitors, tourists, seasonal workers or secondary residents are staying in La Bérarde or Les Étages, a few kilometers downstream – the two hamlets, which are not inhabited all year round, are part of the commune. from Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans.
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200,000 cubic meters of muddy water carrying blocks of granite, sometimes enormous, swept over the hamlet destroying or burying homes like this house of which only the roof emerges.
© William Daniels
In the middle of the night, the gendarmes knocked on their doors and gathered them in one of the inns in La Bérarde, where they spent part of the night in safety. In the early morning, they were evacuated by helicopter to the Deux Alpes station. A high-flying operation, which culminated with the extremis extraction of a Belgian couple, trapped by water in their chalet – the images of CRS Damien Fillon smashing the roof with a hammer have since gone viral.
A few hours later, the chapel is gutted by the waters. Only part of the nave overlooks the new bed of the torrent.
The chapel of La Bérarde (also called Notre Dame des Glaciers) was gutted.
© William Daniels
Barely over the tragedy, the inhabitants of St-Christophe-en-Oisans are wondering: why this thousand-year-old hamlet, a refuge for shepherds long inhabited year-round before becoming the starting point for the most famous mountaineering races in the Écrins, has it disappeared?
200,000 cubic meters of muddy water carrying blocks of granite, sometimes enormous, swept over the hamlet, destroying or burying homes.
© William Daniels
Currently, meteorologists and researchers suggest the concordance of four meteorological events, undoubtedly accentuated by climate change: enormous amounts of snow at high altitudes; a rapid melting of the snow cover accentuated by the foehn; intense rains (more water fell in 48 hours than in a normal June); and, above all, the emptying of a glacial lake, at the foot of the Bonne Pierre glacier.
200,000 cubic meters of muddy water carrying blocks of granite, sometimes enormous, swept over the hamlet, destroying or burying homes.
© William Daniels
Monday, two days after the disaster, we reached the Vénéon valley on foot and hitchhiked, in order to bear witness to the damage caused by the waters, in La Bérarde and Les Étages.
In La Bérarde, the Étançons torrent now cuts the village in two. Many homes are completely destroyed or covered with sand and stones; others are cluttered up to the first floor or expose their devastated interiors.
200,000 cubic meters of muddy water carrying blocks of granite, sometimes enormous, swept over the hamlet, destroying or burying homes.
© William Daniels
A car wreck, a gas tank, a street lamp still standing emerge from the rubble. The trunks of aspens, birches and larches are stripped of bark for 50 centimetres or a metre, evidence of the level reached by the waters.
It is difficult, in view of this rubble, to imagine any future in La Bérarde. If everyone wants to believe in the reconstruction of the hamlet, many privately doubt that the prefecture will authorize it.
200,000 cubic meters of muddy water carrying blocks of granite, sometimes enormous, swept over the hamlet, destroying or burying homes.
© William Daniels
Since Saturday June 22, a prefectural decree has severely limited traffic towards Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans. Furthermore, on Wednesday morning, following a rainy episode, the road was submerged again. More bad news for the residents of La Bérarde, who had to return there on Thursday June 27, in the hope of recovering some personal items. According to our information, the operation has been postponed without the by the Isère prefecture.
200,000 cubic meters of muddy water carrying blocks of granite, sometimes enormous, swept over the hamlet, destroying or burying the homes.
© William Daniels
In Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans, socio-professionals still hope to save their summer season. At accommodation providers, the phone is ringing constantly: worried customers are hesitant to cancel their stay, even though it was planned for mid-July; local lovers want to provide their support.
200,000 cubic meters of muddy water carrying blocks of granite, sometimes enormous, swept over the hamlet, destroying or burying the homes. Here, a crushed car wreck.
© William Daniels
Despite the optimism displayed, everyone senses that the survival of the valley is at stake: with La Bérarde, it has lost its major asset. And nothing says that the work, already well underway, will provide a viable long-term solution. Between July and October 2023, floods and rain damaged kilometers of paths in the area, washing away around thirty footbridges. And in the fall, the access road to La Bérarde was already collapsing – like a repeat of this year’s events.
