one year later, “the construction sites are still relevant” in the Channel

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A year after the passage of storm Ciarán, the roofers are still repairing the damage caused by winds exceeding 170 km/h. Interview with Kévin Lemoine, roofer in the Coutances region (Manche).

The roofs suffered greatly during this extraordinary storm. How did you live after Ciarán?

It involved roof covering, rearrangement… We intervened jointly with the firefighters who were securing the homes, mainly to keep them out of water. It was troubleshooting.

Knowing that you operate around Gavray and Coutances, a hard-hit area, have you been asked a lot?

There are only two of us in the company. For more than a month, until December I would say, while people contacted and processed files with their insurers, we intervened in 5 different locations every day with my boss. And that's without counting the troubleshooting that I carried out on behalf of my microenterprise. I could finish at 10 p.m.

This emergency work past, the time for real repairs has arrived. How did you do it?

At the start of the year, we had to redo a lot of roofs. Where there was the most damage was towards Lingreville, on the west coast, by the sea. Sometimes the frames had moved. So we had to redo them in addition to the cover. And today, construction sites linked to the storm are still ongoing. Often because of the delay by insurance.

“We fear the slightest gust of wind”

Was this additional workload welcome?

Not really, no. During Covid, people from the Paris region bought properties in our region and undertook renovation work, including that related to roofing. These are works that take place over several months, or even several years. The storm hit while our order book was full. We therefore had to postpone construction sites by a few months; we of course gave priority to those affected.

Today, as we enter the winter period conducive to violent winds, is there apprehension of a new outbreak?

Indeed, we now fear the slightest gust of wind. I check the weather regularly, hoping this doesn't happen again.

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