Tempest Xynthia near La Rochelle, France

During the night from Saturday February 27th to Sunday February 28th 2010, the coastal areas bordering the Atlantic Ocean suffered from the tempest Xynthia.

 Torrential rains driven by hurricane-force gales of up to 140km an hour (87mph)
 High tide during an equinox tide.

Those same factors caused over 1800 deaths in 1953 in the Dutch province of Zeeland.

Now, 4 weeks later, a few examples of the situation:

 lands in the area are still flooded with salty water, unsuitable for cattle and planting cereals.

 People have to abandon their homes.

 The railway between La Rochelle and Rochefort has been under repair for over two months.

 Collège Missy’s pupils planned a trip to Ile de Ré’s protected area, but for the moment this trip had to be postponed.

Below a link to a few pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.fr/lh/sredir?uname=svtmissy&target=ALBUM&id=5452930813087449361&authkey=Gv1sRgCIGhzbib2NnkqgE&feat=email

Here’s an article from the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad

A few pictures taken at the Boucholeurs, a small fisher village 10 miles south of La Rochelle