Homes deprived of electricity, uprooted trees, bereaved families and ravaged infrastructure… The day after Christmas 1999, the French woke up in a country battered by powerful gusts of wind carried by storm Lothar followed in its wake by the one called Martin. Quickly nicknamed “the storm of the century”, this series of oceanic depressions marked the starting point for the establishment of the “Meteorological Vigilance” alert system in order to best inform populations. Twenty-five years after this catastrophe, 20 Minutes returns in figures to the results of one of the worst storms that France has experienced.
A furious wind: 200 km/h on the coast, more than 150 km/h on the plains
This morning of December 26, 1999, the country's anemometers are racing. The Météo-France station at Orly airport records a peak of 173 km/h, just like in Saint-Brieuc, in Côtes-d'Armor. A power that goes far beyond the coasts. Cities like Orléans, Reims and Metz see their anemometers giving values above 150 km/h.
The next day, the wind was even more furious: In Mandelieu-la-Napoule, in the Alpes-Maritimes, 205 km/h was recorded and the Oléron station blocked at 198 km/h.
Ten million French people deprived of electricity
A thousand electrical pylons for high and very high voltage lines are damaged or brought down by the gusts of wind, recalls RTE (Electricity Transmission Network) in a press kit devoted to “the legacy of the storm” .
Thus, with 184 electrical substations out of service, a little less than 10% of the French network is no longer working. Consequences: Nearly 3.5 million homes, or around 10 million French people, are no longer supplied with electricity. The water network is also widely affected: 2.5 million French people drink from a bottle. EDF services will fight four days and four nights to restore 90% of the network during this time.
92 dead and thousands injured
In France, the final toll of this disaster is 92 dead and nearly 2,000 injured, according to a report from an interministerial mission carried out.
If France is the most damaged country, Switzerland, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany are also paying heavily for the devastating effects of storms Lothar and Martin with 42 deaths in all for these countries.
A million hectares of forest ravaged
These storms also left an indelible mark on the French landscape, with one million hectares of forest hard hit (the equivalent of the Gironde department), or 6% of the forest cover, concluded the ONF. The most affected regions are Lorraine, Aquitaine and Limousin.
Two-thirds of railway lines impassable
Between direct damage to infrastructure and falling trees on the tracks, 20,000 of the 32,000 kilometers of French rails were impassable on December 27. A race against time begins while mobility is important during the end-of-year holidays and 95% of the rail network has been restored by January 31.
Around ten billion euros in damage, at least
To conclude, let us note the financial estimate of the damage carried out by the French Federation of Insurance Companies which amounts to 6.75 billion euros (44.3 billion francs at the time), excluding deductible and loss of insurance. exploitation.
On the State side, the rehabilitation of forests cost 3.35 billion euros (22 billion francs), spread over several years. The SNCF has estimated the rehabilitation of its network at around 80 million euros. Astronomical sums were also spent by France Telecom (around 200 million euros) for the rehabilitation of telephone lines, again according to the report of the interministerial mission at the time.
