Cost of storm damage in Chamonix 'in the millions'
Compagnie du Mont Blanc alone looking at costs of €600,000It is almost a week now since the violent storm hit Chamonix and repair work is still underway. The overall cost to the community is likely to be millions of euros.
Share this page
One of the worst hit by the extreme weather was Chamonix’s biggest employer, the Compagnie du Mont Blanc. Its infrastructure was badly affected by the wind, with the Montenvers train suffering the most. Managing director, Matthieu Dechavanne, said they had spent this week evaluating the extent of the damage. Yesterday the estimate was €300,000. On top of that they face a further €300,000 in lost takings.
The Montenvers service is closed until further notice after around 70 trees fell on the one kilometre stretch of line between the station in town and the crossing at Planard.
And the gales didn't spare the other ski areas. At Grands Montets the roof of the Lognan refuge was blown off completely; estimated cost €100,000. In Brévent the cable for the cable car was lifted off the rails by strong gusts. The same happened in Flégère where they also lost part of the roof at the cable car station. The roof of the top station of the Index chairlift was also damaged. Suffice to say that the devastation caused in such a short time will be visible for some time to come.
Source: Le Dauphiné