Charente-Maritime: ten months after the earthquake, the dismay of the victims

The earthquake, measuring 5,3 on the Richter scale, caused the greatest damage in around ten towns in the north of the department. As in Cram-Chaban, where “180 houses are affected, out of 360 mailboxes”, specifies the mayor, Laurent Renaud.

Ten months later, large beams still support walls that threaten to collapse onto the road and tarpaulins still cover roofs. Yet the craftsmen are hard at work, repairing frames, consolidating facades, destroying buildings that are too damaged.

Here, 40 houses are classified “red”: the owners can no longer live there but can only pick up their belongings; 30 are classified “black”: entry is prohibited. Despite the sweeping of the workers' vans, the repairs are not progressing fast enough.

“From a human perspective, it’s catastrophic,” sighs the councilor. “People are falling into tears, because they are unable to plan for the future.” “The first step is to do psychology with the clients who we often pick up with a spoonful,” confirms Louis Bricourt, masonry works manager.

Mobile homes

The amounts to be incurred can greatly exceed the price of the houses, as for Maud Hamel's: "There is work worth 467.000 euros, we bought it for 245.000".

“We had to hire an expert to ensure that precautionary measures were taken and that a tarpaulin was placed on the roof because the insurance had refused,” laments the resident. “We had been homeowners for more than three months before the earthquake, so the bank refused to defer the loan. We are afraid, with my husband and our four children, of having to spend a second winter in a mobile home.”

Around thirty were made available by the Habitat et Humanisme association. Catherine Hamelin, municipal councilor, lives in one of them and sent a first quote to her insurer in mid-March.

“My house is classified + red +, the four exterior walls must be consolidated. The work is estimated at 140.000 euros but for others, it goes up to 700.000 euros,” she emphasizes.

Faced with these amounts, many denounce the slowness of insurance companies to intervene. “They drag on in order to negotiate: for example, redo the house by repairing the kitchen but not the bedroom, so that it costs less,” accuses the president of the victims’ collective, Matthieu Priez.

“They also take time for people to accept the amount they offer. People give in so as not to stay in a mobile home for months more.”

"Not normal"

Since the arrival of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on February 23 in La Laigne, these temporary accommodations, paid nine to 18 euros per day and per person, are covered by the State when insurance or the Emergency Assistance Fund emergency rehousing no longer occurs.

The insurers were summoned to Matignon. A dedicated telephone line and digital platform have been set up to try to speed up cases.

“Out of 160 houses likely to be demolished, we have 90 diagnoses and we are waiting for 70 others. This is not normal after almost a year,” estimates the prefect of Charente-Maritime, Brice Blondel. “We will receive the insurers on April 25 to review the situation and we will demand a constructive and proactive attitude from them,” he warns.

The sector federation assures that it is “in close contact with local authorities since the earthquake to monitor its consequences”.

Companies and experts “mobilized immediately by putting in place exceptional measures, such as the payment of deposits to deal with the most urgent situations,” says France Assureurs, adding that the earthquake caused nearly 17.000 claims for total compensation. of 184 million euros.

At this stage, 36 municipalities have been recognized as being in a state of natural disaster, "even though more than 600 had requested it".