After the earthquake in Charente-Maritime, how to quickly and sustainably relocate more than 200 families?

IAmazement has no place after the tremor. Four days after the earthquake which caused significant damage in Aunis, the time for emotion was quickly set aside for the needs of the action.

Tuesday, June 20, in the center of La Laigne, the day after the visit of two ministers, construction machinery rubs shoulders with fire trucks, expert vehicles and the mobile office of an insurance company. The mayor and his secretary do not have time to catch their breath that an agent or a citizen is already…

IAmazement has no place after the tremor. Four days after the earthquake which caused significant damage in Aunis, the time for emotion was quickly set aside for the needs of the action.

Tuesday, June 20, in the center of La Laigne, the day after the visit of two ministers, construction machinery rubs shoulders with fire trucks, expert vehicles and the mobile office of an insurance company. The mayor and his secretary do not have time to catch their breath when an agent or a citizen is already soliciting them: « We will be with you until the end », reassures the second, addressing a homeless family. “We will move forward. One step after another. »

One step after another. André Brun has made the formula his own. He is waiting for the visit of the expert to project himself. In the meantime, he and his family are sleeping with friends and he invites people who walk along his building to move away as much as possible, fearing that it will collapse without warning. “I tell myself that the best thing would be for her to fall. We could move on. »

« The priority is to be able to tell people whether or not they can stay in their homes, that’s their main concern »

“If we can ever go back to our house, it will be a very long time. But frankly, I don’t believe it, ”Blows Tony Campos. An engineer in the building industry, he has no illusions. “The walls came out ten centimeters from the facade, the roof came down. He and his family temporarily occupy a mobile home at the Courçon campsite. “There are more to complain about than us,” he philosophizes. He hopes to soon be able to move his family into the accommodation he has just built in the village, initially intended for rental. The frame, built with the new standards, has no cracks. “We will be our first tenants. »

Stay or go?

The deputy for the constituency, Anne-Laure Babault, challenged the government to the National Assembly: “It is essential that we all take the measure of this disaster in order to act as quickly as possible. »

Tuesday morning, the prefecture estimated at more than 200 the number of houses classified red or black, in other words uninhabitable. So many families faced with an urgent need to find a roof over the short, medium and long term. The census is not over. « The priority is to be able to tell people whether or not they can stay in their homes, that’s their main concern, » says Sabine Sobata, deputy mayor in Cram-Chaban. “Spontaneously, they found emergency solutions. The hardest part will be finding lasting solutions. »

The weather conditions and the passage of time could reveal undetectable damage for the time being. “A pinion is affected and the whole structure can be affected. Who knows what will happen in a year, two years, four years, ”questions Sébastien Leturgeon, independent expert.

« Task Force »

The prefect announced the establishment of a “task force” to work on relocating the victims. With the communes, the Department and the services of the State, the community of communes Aunis Atlantique is at the forefront. “Already, in normal times, it is complicated to find accommodation. So find 200 homes at the start of the summer,” worries an intermunicipal agent. « Solidarity is great, but more than food or clothes, what we need above all are entire homes for long-term rental », continues a colleague who approaches the difficulty as one would approach Everest from the front. south: “Housing, on the territory, there is none and it is not an earthquake that will make them appear. »

On social networks, calls are increasing: « We are a young couple with a 12-month-old baby, we are staying for the week but we have no solution for the rest », writes a resident of La Laigne whose house was « literally cut in four ».

Return of school children

All leads seem good to take. The prefect asked the president of the Departmental Federation of outdoor hotels in Charente-Maritime. This is currently listing availability. But no one expects miracles as the high season kicks off in two weeks.

Something to add anxiety to stress. “The slightest noise puts us on the alert. On Tuesday, the two psychological cells set up in the town halls of La Laigne and Cram-Chaban were particularly in demand.

In the second commune, the school will reopen on Thursday but in the village hall. The children will bring their picnic (the canteen being unusable) and – even more importantly – their carelessness.