Weather – Metéo Nouvelle Aquitaine, South West France
On 26th December 1999 storms by the names of Lothar and Martin hit Brossac and the south west coast of France and the French government declared a natural catastrophe across two-thirds of the country, 6000 troops were mobilized to help clear the debris and deliver essential supplies to the citizens who has been battered by the worst storms in decades.
The French government set aside 25 million euros in aid for the worst hit regions which included the south west coastline of France. Thousands of utility workers cut short their holidays to help restore power to over a million homes that were spending their holidays by candle light.
More than 400,000 French homes had no telephone services and many rural villages were without drinking water. French television reported that 259 sq kilometres of wood land had been destroyed. At La Giraudiere we lost 69 trees to storms Martin and Lothar.
Heatwave South West Fance
In July 2019 the BBC in London reported as follows “The French city of Bordeaux has hit its highest temperature since records began, as Western Europe braces for the second heatwave to hit this summer.” Metéo France registered 41.2C (106.1F) in the South Western city, breaking a 2003 record of 40.7C.
Forecasters predict a record-breaking run across Europe this week, including Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokeswoman said the heatwaves bore “the hallmark of climate change”.
