Mud up to 3.50m high, cars stacked on top of each other, completely devastated bridges and roads, and desperate residents. On October 2, 2020, storm Alex ravaged the valleys of the Alpes-Maritimes and took everything in its path.
20 minutes had gone to Breil-sur-Roya, in the Menton hinterland, the day after the disaster. A year later, the people of Breill (who remain) confided in the life they have led since these floods.
You might think that the water has flowed under the bridges, literally, since the lake is filled again. However, some of the inhabitants of Breil-sur-Roya still live with “the fear that it will happen again”. “We are entering the bad weather season. This weekend, when the sky turned black, we were a little afraid, says Nicolas, originally from Italy and Breillois for twenty-two years. The most impressive is the noise. These are memories that are stored in memory. I still remember hearing the rocks slide into the river. “
Six months of administration, six months of work for a reopening one year later
In the village square, the Italian is in front of the restaurant Le Biancheri, which has existed for eighty years and which is one of the oldest in the valley. He has been working there for ten years with the managers, Guillaume and Clara. The latter lived in Nice before falling in love with the valley. Even if they asked themselves the question, “like everyone else”, assures the restaurateur, they decided to stay.
“We experience events differently depending on what has been touched, business or main home,” exclaims Guillaume. In the aftermath of the events, the facade of the restaurant was completely destroyed. The storm took everything, it was very impressive. The only things that remained were irrecoverable. The silt in the river is worse than mud. There are clothes that I had to wash for three months before it left. “
By the end of next week, Le Biancheri will be able to reopen “after six months of administration and six months of work”, blows the couple. They recognize the changes that have been made over the past year but are impatient with finishes that “will truly mark the renewal”.
We had 400,000 euros worth of repairs but we have problems in the toilets because of the earth of the storm still present in the pipes. We will reopen but under what conditions? We also live with tourists and not all means of communication are optimized. There are still big question marks ”.
He concludes with a sad smile: “We have a bit of a scoumoune here, between confinement, the storm and the long reconstruction”.
Even if they are a little further, on the other side of the road, a group of friends who call themselves “the old men”, share Guillaume’s opinion. “We have lived it all, all that’s missing is an earthquake! They half joke. In front of the lake, they say: “It’s symbolic but it feels good to see the water again. To tell the truth, any breakthrough is good because we can’t get worse than a year ago, ”says Claude even if he considers living in“ a permanent building site ”.
“We try not to think too much about the storm”
This Breillois was born here. Just like Germaine and Antoine. They went to school together. In their voices and their looks, nostalgia is felt. “You should no longer imagine the Breil before, nor the valley. It will never be the way we remembered it again, ”they exclaim. The only woman in the group adds: “We can say that we survive peacefully after all the things we have seen. But we try not to think too much about the storm. “
Over time, and the events between Covid-19 and the natural disaster, Breil-sur-Roya seems to have lost inhabitants. “I’ve lived here for 73 years, it’s my village, but I see it empty, says Claude. At the time, there were about thirty shops, now there is not even a bistro which is the symbol of each village ”.
When some were forced to close because of Alex, others had to open, including the Secours populaire branch. “I had moved in just two months before the bad weather,” says Lyuba, the manager. I didn’t think I would stay but with what happened, I want to help and participate in relaunching the village. “Little by little, life” returns to normal “according to her, even if” the biggest concern remains the compensation of the victims “.
Other questions remain unanswered for the 35-year-old woman: “On October 3, the train line will pay again, will we have as many people to come and see us? How will the winter go? How will the work progress? “Alain, 70, whose home was completely washed away, and who walks his dog along the river, happy to see water there, concludes:” The birthday makes us plunge into horror. But it reminds us that, even if we lost everything, we are still here. “
Sunday will also take place a commemorative ceremony for the victims and victims of the storm Alex in Breil-sur-Roya with the presence of the president of the department, Charles Ange Ginésy, for a plaque unveiling and wreath laying.