the state of natural disaster declared on Wednesday evening, confirms Gérald Darmanin on the spot

“We have reassuring news about the injured, especially those who were in serious condition,” said Friday August 19 the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, during a trip to a campsite in Calvi (Haute-Corse), the day after the violent storms which left five dead and 20 injured on the island, according to a provisional report.

>> Storms: follow the evolution of the situation in our direct

“The vacationers who were evacuated (Thursday evening) will be able to find the campsites today, if they wish, or be relocated in the event that the campsites can no longer accommodate them”, he also added. The Minister of the Interior notably confirmed that the state of natural disaster was going to be declared in Corsica next Wednesday.

In particular, this will allow “all socio-professional (actors) to receive the legitimate aid they need to revive economic activity in this summer period”, added the Minister, specifying that he was already in contact with the President of the Insurance Federation on this subject, after a request from the President of the Republic. Companies can be compensated “very quickly” if they have been confronted with cases of force majeure related to storms.

According to Gérald Darmanin, the weather alert triggered Thursday morning did not make it possible to anticipate the violence of the winds which affected the island. “We expected winds of 100 km / h (…) and they reached up to 220 km / h“, underlined the minister, specifying that he would request an investigation into the triggering of the orange vigilance.

The orange alert fell a few minutes before the arrival of these winds and therefore prevented the evacuation of these campsites at this time.

Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior

during a trip to Calvi (Haute-Corse), August 19, 2022

The Minister also announced that he would return to Corsica in September, to continue to follow this file. Thursday evening, an interministerial crisis unit chaired by Emmanuel Macron from Fort Brégançon (Var) had been activated to anticipate the measures to be taken for the Island of Beauty.