Violent hailstorms caused great material damage in Saône-et-Loire and in Allier, where firefighters intervened hundreds of times, we learned Wednesday morning from the emergency services and local elected officials.
At the end of the day on Tuesday, we had a storm of unprecedented violence, with hailstones of a size that we had never seen in the memory of inhabitants, declared AFP Fabien Genet, senator of Sane- et-Loire and elected in charge of Digoin security in the Charolais sector, very affected.
In the historic center of the city, on the banks of the Loire, hailstones the size of a ping-pong ball shattered the roofs of homes and public buildings, chopped trees and the windshields of many cars. did not resist.
We have Plexiglas domes that have exploded, in a gymnasium for example, notes Mr. Genet, describing enormous material damage that did not cause any injuries.
Same observation around the neighboring town of Paray-le-Monial, where the president of the department and elected official of the city, Andr Accary, went Wednesday morning with the prefect.
It is very impressive: in the space of seven minutes, the buildings were machine-gunned in the economic zone of Paray, as well as the dwellings around, described Mr. Accary.
Firefighters have intervened more than 600 times since Tuesday evening to urgently dig up damaged roofs, many of which were not yet protected on Wednesday morning.
Our concern is that new storms are announced for this (Wednesday) evening and until Friday, it’s a race against time for relief, added the president of the department.
In the Allier, a violent hailstorm also hit the east of Moulins on Tuesday evening, an area where firefighters carried out 145 interventions in the municipalities of Jaligny-sur-Besbre, Thionne, Saint-See, mainly for digging damaged roofs.
According to a Codis firefighter, people were shocked on the road by the violence of the episode. On June 4, a storm had already caused significant damage in the Vichy area, further south.
The material damage was also significant in the Nivre, according to the prefecture of the department, where the Morvan was hit by hail. The firefighters have already intervened 160 times and 300 digging operations remain to be carried out before a new stormy episode expected on Wednesday evening.