Accompanied by the Minister of the Interior, Gรฉrald Darmanin, the Prime Minister visited the Prefecture of Alpes-Maritimes to assess the situation following the storm “Alex” in the department.
The Prime Minister, Jean Castex, expressed on Saturday in Nice his “deep concern about the final toll” of the severe weather conditions that affected the department. Currently, eight people are still reported missing, and many residents have not yet communicated due to network disruptions primarily affecting the Vรฉsubie Valley.
Shortly after their arrival and discussions with Christian Estrosi and Eric Ciotti among others, the head of the government, along with the Minister of the Interior, boarded a helicopter to assess the situation.
Jean Castex: the natural disaster procedure is “already underway”
“Two firefighters, a captain and a volunteer firefighter, are among the missing persons,” he specified.
Natural disaster procedure “underway”
“The natural disaster procedure is underway so that the Council of Ministers can declare it by next Wednesday,” specified the Prime Minister. “I must tell you that I was particularly impressed by what I saw today,” he continued gravely, referring to the exceptional climatic phenomenon that affected the department.
The Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Bernard Gonzalez, announced “the deployment of satellite resources that should allow mayors to establish connections with our command post and also allow families to communicate updates.”
Additional army forces are expected in the coming hours to continue the search efforts in the twelve communities most affected by the storm, namely: Breil-sur-Roya, Fontan, La Brigue, Saorge, Tende, Malaussรจne, Villars-sur-Var, Pierrefeu, Roquebilliรจre, Saint-Martin-Vรฉsubie, La Bollรจne-Vรฉsubie, and Ilonse.
