It would seem that my report of the weekend storm which swept across the north of Europe was more than a little premature. Of course much of my initial blog entry was based on our own personal experience here in Galicia, where with hindsight, we escaped rather lightly.

Almost inevitably with this type of natural disaster, it takes time for the reporting of fatalities and destruction to be collated, especially over such a wide area, and very regrettably, it now emerges that the number of deaths is much higher than I first reported.

Nearly 50 people have lost their lives, the worst hit being the west coast of France, around the Vendee and Charente-Maritime (an area just north of Bordeaux, and the centre of production for Cognac and Pineau des Charentes). Many of the victims were drowned in the rapidly rising waters, whilst others were killed either by falling trees or parts of buildings.

The aftermath of this powerful Atlantic storm, named Xynthia, has been declared a National Disaster in France, where the priority now is to help those with flooded or damaged homes, and to restore electricity to the large areas that have been cut off.

Our thoughts are with them, and also with the people of Chile and Haiti…..