Saint-Étienne requests recognition of the state of natural disaster

The municipalities affected by Wednesday’s violent storm in the Loire (Saint-Étienne, La Talaudière, Sorbiers, Villars and Saint-Priest-en-Jarez) are asking for the recognition of the state of natural disaster following the floods. The objective is to facilitate the compensation procedures for the victims.

Flooding and damaged roof at the Zenith

In individuals as in some municipal or metropolitan facilities, water – and sometimes mud – have infiltrated. Like at the Zénith de Saint-Étienne. Thursday afternoon, puddles of water were still visible in the Saint-Etienne concert hall, at the foot of the bleachers. A rainwater drain broke in the building, probably due to the accumulation of hailstones, leaves and branches.

“We got the companies to intervene so that it doesn’t happen again”, explains the director of the Zénith, Sylvie Liogier, to the representatives of Saint-Etienne Métropole and the Loire prefecture who came to see the damage. Securing work was also carried out this Thursday on the roof of the building: 17 clapboards in white sheet metal were torn off under the violence of the weather, on the west facade of the roof. They were found scattered in the car parks of the Zénith.

More than 400 lightning strikes

Fortunately, there were no injuries. Which is almost a miracle, explains the secretary general of the prefecture. “We counted more than 400 lightning strikes, 30 to 40 millimeters of water, so it’s a phenomenon that was very intense and very fast, and it’s true that given the violence of the elements, _we could have had a much more serious human toll_there are absolutely no injuries”, explains Frédéric Schuffenecker. He visited several municipalities affected Thursday afternoon, including L’Étrat, where many roofs were damaged. This is the case of the roof of the Ollières school. “We found photovoltaic panels everywhere”, says the mayor of the town, Yves Moirand. Infiltrations have also been noted in the establishment, but the start of the school year in September should take place normally. “We are going to have a neutral coating installed while waiting to receive the new panels”, says the mayor.

The recovery, on the other hand, will not be able to take place as planned at the restaurant L ‘ Hospitalet in Sorbiers. Half of the roof was destroyed by the storm. The restaurant was to resume its activity on August 22, after 15 days off, but given the extent of the damage, there will be technical unemployment. “There had never been a disaster, it’s hard to swallow to see the restaurant like that”, comments Michel Laval, the father of the manager of the establishment. He takes care of the first steps while waiting for his son, who is currently traveling in the Seychelles, to return from vacation.