In front of this house, a car and 3 holes in the rear window. These are 3 impacts of the impressive hailstorm that hit the Landes this Friday evening, June 3, 2022, and particularly the commune of Frêche in the east of the department. Holes found on the slide, the plastic chairs. “I’ve traveled a lot, I’ve experienced bad weather. But this was incredible, I’ve never seen that”says Marie-Claire Bento who lives in a house in Le Frêche with her partner and her children.
– Tristan Barraux
“When we came back the day after the storm the ceiling collapsed.” The living room is covered with glass wool, the ceiling is open. Same thing in the bedroom of the couple, unrecognizable. You can see the tiles of the roof through the ceiling, which is also open. “I have a children’s bed in which I welcome children, because it is my job. It is unusable now.”
The family tries somehow to get as much stuff out of the house as possible. “We are staying with my mother 12 kilometers away while waiting. But we are lucky in our misfortune. I tell myself that it is only material.” And to add: “I think our nature is beckoning us. We may have been pulling the strings a little too long, we are paying for what we haven’t considered too much.”
devastated vines
A little further, the storm devastated entire vineslike those of Nelly Lacave, producer of Armagnac at Le Frêche. “The vine is completely chopped up, the roofs are chopped up. Our agricultural building is taking on water, it’s a giant Swiss cheese. We took frost in March, we had 50% losses. There with the hail we is 100% lost. There is absolutely nothing left.”she laments. “The problem that arises is next year’s harvest because a damaged vine as it is today will be very complicated to prune it this winter and to have a decent harvest next year. ”
Thierry Baron the sub-prefect of the Landes moved to Frêche this Saturday, June 4, 2022 to see the damage. The Minister of the Interior will hold a press point this Sunday, June 5, 2022 in the morning to take stock of the situation.
This Sunday evening, the orange thunderstorm warning is lifted by Météo France in the Landes.