Who did the most damage. Storm Alex or the bulldozers?
February 29, 2024
Who did the most damage. Storm Alex or the bulldozers?
Tende in 2007
28 october 2020, one month after the flood. A beautiful wild river
July 2023. An ugly channel. Unfortunately the worst is yet to come.
Interactive maps from IGN
The Institut Géographique National published excellent interactive maps showing the Roya and Vésubie valleys before and after Alex. Above: Entrance of the Tende tunnel. alex.ign.fr
The shuttle saga
Since november 23, shuttle services with minibus were set in place:
- from Breil to Fontan
- from Fontan to Saint Dalmas
- from Saint Dalmas to Tende
The connections between them were random, and several persons had to hitch a ride to complete their journey.
Why such complication instead of a single service from Breil to Tende!!
Anyway, since december 3 it is much simpler: no more shuttle. Since the railway is out of service until december 18, there is no longer public transportation, either for persons or for freight.
Roya is channeled
The Roya river is now completely channeled through Tende.
.
Left: october 25, right: november 25
It is legitimate to ask these questions:
Who decided to put up these levees?, and did the "hydraulic restoration" justify the destruction of the natural aspect of the river?
Was it so urge...
SNCF report
See also the Train line history by Michel Braun
New links
The Remontons la Roya association now has a web site.
The CEREMA has added a page describing the damage
SNCF report
The SNCF issued a detailed report on the damage of the line.
Géoazur marine expedition
From 1 to 9 november 2020 the marine geologists from the Géoazur lab of Sophia Antipolis are conducting an expedition to study the effects of sedimentary deposits from the Roya and Var rivers caused by the storm of october 2 and 3. Follow the expedition at this address
Info 06
The Alpes Maritimes task force publishes a report on the ongoing infrastructure works.
Cartography
données OpenStreetMap (licence ODbL)
The OpenStreetMap organization updated its site with remarkable speed and precision.
See also the aerial photographs taken just after october 2
Thibaud's report
I attach the excellent report by Thibaud Duffey on the current status. Over the next days I will translate parts of it and post them on this blog.
Search notice for Anne-Laure Apicella
I attach the search notice for Anne-Laure Apicella who has not returned since she went hiking on october 20.
Flood - Timeline of events
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 2 october | Mediterranean episode - about 500mm of rain on the Mercantour |
| 2 and 3 october | Several hundred cubic meters per second in the Roya and its tributaries |
| 3 october | Interruption of RD 6204 road at more than 10 bridges etc. |
| 3 october | Power, telephone and water... |
Floods in the Roya valley - 2 october 2020
On October 2, 2020, a "mediterranean episode" struck the Mercantour range on the French Italian border, causing several fatalities and important material damage. Over the next weeks and months, I will attempt to describe the damage, focusing on the village of Tende, and the ongoing reconstruction....