“Hailstones bigger than ping-pong balls, even tennis balls…” Almost two years to the day after the storm which ravaged the towns of Taillan-Médoc and Saint-Médard-en-Jalles in Gironde , a violent hailstorm hit several towns at the tip of Médoc, a few kilometers further north, during the night from Monday to Tuesday, around 1 a.m., notably Naujac-sur-Mer.
“The storm crossed the town in a corridor, it lasted between five minutes for some, and a quarter of an hour for others” explains to 20 minutes, this Tuesday morning, Yves Barreau, mayor of Naujac. “All the cars that were outside are dented, the windshields broken. »
“Around 75 people came forward this Tuesday morning, and that continues,” continues the elected official. We are going door to door with the firefighters to assess the damage to the roofs of houses, so as to cover everything before the other storms forecast for Tuesday evening. » Gironde is in fact placed on orange alert for thunderstorms, with hail expected this Tuesday from 6 p.m.
“It’s a disaster” at the producer La Benarderie
The municipalities of Hourtin, Vendays-Montalivet and Gaillan-en-Médoc were also hit by this storm. In Hourtin, the fruit and vegetable seller/producer La Benarderie was severely impacted. “It’s a disaster,” says Victoire Benard, one of those responsible. Our store is completely holed up, huge impacts have broken the windows and the bottles of apple juice inside… The greenhouses, which we had just redone, are all holed up too. We are in the process of covering all the roofs. »
Crops were also ravaged, “especially blueberries, raspberries, and the surrounding vegetation. » “We have lost around 50% of the blueberry crop, which is why we invite customers to come and support us by picking up what is on the ground, for five euros per kilo. » Victoire Benard is particularly worried about the new storms announced this Tuesday. “We hope that the rest of our cultures will hold…”