The start of repairs after bad weather in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques

The village of Etsaut in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region suffered heavy damage after Saturday’s storms in southwestern France. A thick layer of rocks and dried mud still littered the streets on Monday morning.

It is a devastated village, after the violent storms that hit the southwest of France on Saturday, September 7. Etsaut, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, was badly hit by floods after the impressive flooding of a stream, like many other towns in the Aspe valley affected by the storms of the weekend.

In a few hours, up to 200mm of precipitation was recorded in the area, compared to around 50mm in the rest of the department, Prefect Julien Charles said on Saturday.

“There is still much to do”

“We have already managed to clear half of the square but there is still a lot to do,” said Alexandre Lehmann, deputy mayor of the village, on Monday, adding that the four excavators sent to the site will continue their work at the start of the week.

Part of the streets of Etsaut have been covered with a layer of rocks and mud more than two metres thick. This Monday morning, there remains “1 metre, 1.50 metres, it depends on the place, we are well above the level of the street, specifies the deputy. In front of a house, a car is still partly buried by the rubble and therefore immobilized.

A psychological unit was set up on Sunday evening, says Alexandre Lehmann: “it will be present in the village for the residents shortly,” he adds.

According to the deputy, the clearing work should last at least until the end of the week. Then work will begin to repair the damage caused and restore the village to its former appearance, probably within several months.

“Very important material balance sheet”

In the surrounding towns of the Aspe Valley, such as Urdos, Borce and Cette-Eygun, the damage is also significant, with ground floors of homes and businesses completely flooded by water and mud. In Urdos, the road leading to the Spanish border, less than 10 kilometres away, was washed away by the water.

“Fortunately, there are no victims but a very significant material toll,” the prefect explained on BFMTV on Saturday.