Lightning strikes the bell tower of the Béziers music conservatory: 60 students and teachers urgently evacuated

Lightning struck the building around 6:20 p.m. 60 students were still inside the castle and were evacuated. J.-P A. – Midi Libre

Lightning struck the building around 6:20 p.m. 60 students were still inside the castle and were evacuated. J.-P A. – Midi Libre

Lightning struck the building around 6:20 p.m. 60 students were still inside the castle and were evacuated. J.-P A. – Midi Libre

This Thursday, October 17, at the end of the day, lightning struck the Béziers music conservatory. The roof was damaged and part of the area no longer has electricity.

“We heard an explosion, then there were flames in the air, says a professor at the Béziers music conservatory. Everyone was very, very scared at the time. We quickly decided to evacuate the premises. Oddly enough, everything happened very calmly. The fear had passed."

Lightning struck the roof on the lightning rod

This Thursday, October 17, a storm cell crossed the west of the Hérault department. It was 6:20 p.m. in the middle of bad weather when a huge clap of thunder resounded in the Gayonne area. Lightning had just struck the music conservatory located behind the stadium, at the foot of the towers. The lightning struck the lightning rod and then tore off a few slates from the bell tower. This is the only damage visible from the outside. Inside, a few rooms are without electricity, as is part of the neighborhood. Electrical wires have melted under the force of the lightning strike.

We thought there was an explosion

“When the lightning struck, explains Chloé, a young student. We thought there was an explosion. I paused and suddenly I was really scared. It's really scary. It's like a huge shock. It felt like the whole house was shaking. We were scared and then we got out and quickly." Luckily, there was only material damage to be seen. Only slates were torn off and no one was hurt. Parents were able to come and pick up their children quickly. 60 students and teachers were in the classrooms or offices. "Thursday is one of our busiest days of classes, says a teacher. There are a lot of students in groups or alone with their teacher. We were scared but everything went well because calm returned immediately to leave the castle and take shelter."

A company intervenes to protect the framework

The mayor of Béziers, Robert Ménard, and his wife Emmanuelle also came to see the damage caused by this weather phenomenon. "If it's just material, it's not serious. It can be repaired. The building must be made watertight so that the rain, if it falls again tonight, does not make the situation worse." He mobilized the technical services to intervene as quickly as possible before a possible gust of wind or rain damages the roof a little more. The mayor of Béziers asked the company "Thierry toiture" to come and cover the bell tower. She was helped in her action by the firefighters who brought the large ladder from the Béziers Fire Brigade. It allows you to work in good conditions at height. Without it, the carpenter would not have been able to work and install protection above the damaged part of the roof.