Pepper producers in the French Basque town of Espelette on Tuesday lost their entire crop to a devastating hailstorm. The mayor has asked the state to declare the area a natural disaster zone.
"It was really the apocalypse", mayor Jean-Marie Iputcha told FranceInfo radio. “Everything was white.”
The violent storm, which struck in the afternoon, dumped hailstones of up to seven centimetres in Espelette, Cambo, Arbonne, Itxassou, Ustaritz, Hasparren – picturesque towns in the south-western department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Widespread damage
Schools, car parks and shops were damaged by floods – as were fields of espelette chillies, a variety of mildly spicy red capsicum for which the region is famous.
The "chilli capital" Espelette, home to some 2,000 people, was hardest hit. Here the storm raged forsome 20 minutes (see video below) leaving hailstones piled up to 30 centimetres high.
Iputcha said pepper farmers were left completely helpless: "They’ve lost all their crops. A hundred percent. There is nothing left.
“We are obviously going to ask the state to declare the area a natural disaster so that espelette pepper producers can receive compensation from their insurance.”
The mayor added there would still be a harvest of red peppers this year given that some 200 producers are spread over 10 municipalities.
Espelette en fin d'après-midi #pyreneesatlantiques 📷 Estelle Hiriart pic.twitter.com/JVWnGK2HqP
— Météo Pyrénées (@Meteo_Pyrenees) June 20, 2023
