The worst of it was that people died and went missing after Storm Alex hit south-eastern France including Saint-Martin-Vésubie. The storm brought fierce winds and torrential rain. Saint-Martin-Vesubie was one of the worst hit of a number of villages north of Nice in France which suffered serious damage from floods and landslides, with roads, bridges and homes destroyed. Saint-Martin-Vésubie itself was cut off, with roads inaccessible.
President of AS Monaco Dmitry Rybolovlev To the Rescue
The tragic impact of the storm on the community did not remain unnoticed by President of AS Monaco Dmitry Rybolovlev. And so he has announced that to help the stricken community he would make a personal donation to assist reconstruction efforts of their football field.
It is too early to know the exact timing of when the new football field will be in operation. Due to the large-scale damage caused by the cataclysmic storm, it is currently impossible to detail specific reconstruction plans. But when the plans are eventually drawn up there will be funds waiting to help out.
Merci au président de l’@AS_Monaco qui vient de m’informer qu’il allait faire un don de 250 000€ à la commune de Saint Martin Vésubie pour construire un stade dans le village à la demande de deux jeunes Saint martinois.
Merci au club de la principauté et à nos jeunes ! pic.twitter.com/rnXxSK4D0I
— Eric Ciotti (@ECiotti) October 13, 2020
Much has been heard about the wolves’ fate but it is a blessing indeed that the children also are on the receiving end of such kind help. Who knows one of them may end up one day as a soccer ace in the French league or better still play for AS Monaco.
Four Months of Rain in One Day
Meteorological agency Météo-France had declared 450mm (17.7in) of rain had fallen in some areas over 24 hours – the equivalent of nearly four months at this time of year. The French commune of Saint-Martin-de-Vesubie, just an hour away from Nice, is also home to a unique nature reserve founded in 1922 as part of the Mercantour National Forest. Wolves live there in their natural habitat. But the bad weather also destroyed the structure of the wolves’ refuge in the park.
Wolves Helicoptered to Safety
And so a special home has had to be found in a sanctuary nearly a thousand kilometers away – and several of the wolves helicoptered there. But there was no sanctuary for the Saint-Martin-Vésubie football pitch which was completely destroyed during the tempest.
Children from Saint-Martin-Vésubie can normally be seen playing in AS Monaco’s “Under Twelves” division which it turns out has fortunately created a strong tie between AS Monaco and Saint-Martin-Vésubie.
