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Our ancestors also experienced devastating weather phenomena… A look back at some of them.
©️Gallica - BnF
At the beginning of October 2020, the terrible storm Alex hit Brittany before continuing its path towards the south of France and the center of Europe. The damage was significant, and the human toll was heavy. 7 French people lost their lives, about twenty are missing, and the material damage was very impressive in the southeast of the country…
Each of us certainly has a particular memory of the storm of December 1999. Recognized as the 'Storm of the Century' because it was so devastating, three depressions struck Europe, resulting in 92 deaths and over 2000 injured in France alone.
To a lesser extent, several storms have profoundly marked our national territory due to the damage they caused. On December 22, 1872, Le Petit Marseillais reported on Disastrous Hurricanes in Europe since the 4th Century.
For example, on March 23, 1836, a violent storm struck the entire country. Strong winds caused the shipwreck of 78 sailors who had gone fishing off La Teste, in Gironde. This storm was also the cause of the fire that devastated the village of Damas-devant-Dompaire in the Vosges.
Another example, on February 3, 1904, the force of the wind caused many floods in Brittany and the English Channel. The island of Molène was cut off from the world, the population feared famine. The inhabitants of the island of Sein tried to escape the high tide by taking refuge on the roofs of their houses. The village of Saint-Guenolé was flooded, as was Penmarch, and the sea rose 2 km inland. The island of Jersey suffered an earthquake that intensified the high tides… Several victims were to be deplored, and the flooded Breton lands remained barren for several years.
In old newspapers, there are many mentions of storms and hurricanes. This is the case, for example, of the Estafette of September 13, 1903 which reports the damage of a hurricane on our coasts and many disasters, the Miroir which highlights photos of the damage caused by the January 1920 hurricane in Paris, or the harm caused by storms in the Ouest-Eclair of December 2, 1935…
The intensity of tornadoes is evaluated according to the Fujita scale. Some tornadoes classified as EF4 (devastating damage, winds between 267 and 322 km/h) and EF5 (incredible damage, winds over 322 km/h) have struck France in recent centuries.
The Montville Tornado (EF5), for example, struck several towns in Seine-Maritime on August 19, 1845. It moved 15 km and caused 70 deaths and 130 injuries. Thousands of trees were uprooted, torn from the ground, and carried away. Houses were destroyed to dust, and debris were found up to 30 km from Montville… The most affected towns were Montville, Saint-Jean-du-Cardonnay, Le Houlme, Malaunay, Eslettes, Anceaumeville, Cieres, and Grugny.
The Saint-Claude Tornado (EF4) moved over more than 80 km, a record in France. On August 19, 1890, the Ain and Jura regions trembled under the winds of this tornado. Six deaths were reported, forests and houses were completely destroyed, and even a 25-ton crane wagon was thrown 20 meters away, showing the power of these winds…
Six years later, the Tornado of Paris marked the country more for its damage than its intensity (EF2). On September 11, 1896, six arrondissements were swept away in a few minutes. Trees were uprooted, roofs were torn off, cars were overturned, and 5 victims were to be deplored…
The press took up the subject the next day and gives us more details:
"It was quite comparable, to the eye, to the famous pillar of fire mentioned in the Bible that guided the Hebrews to the Red Sea." (Le Matin, 11/09/1896)
"[...] The most curious thing is that at the same time, in Montmartre, in the 9th arrondissement, at the Champs-Elysées, at the Champ-de-Mars, no one suspected that a terrible cyclone was wreaking havoc in Paris. There was just some rain and that was all.
At four o'clock, the cyclone had passed. The sky was clearing. The rain stopped completely." (Le Figaro, 11/09/1896)