Storms that battered the Atlantic coast of France over the weekend left at least 51 dead, raising serious questions about planning policy on seaside developments.

Worst affected areas were the Vendée, where 34 are believed to have died, and Charente Maritime where 8 people died. There also remain at least 8 persons reported as still missing, and several dozen with serious injuries.

The villages of La-Faute-Sur-Mer and l'Aiguillon-Sur-Mer were worst affected, when the coastal defences broke, causing the death of at least 26 people.

Most deaths appear to have been caused by drowning, with victims having been caught by the sudden rise of water levels. Others died from falling trees and other debris.

Winds of up to 150km were recorded across the coast, and in some Pyrenean ski resorts there were winds of over 200km, causing substantial damage to some ski lifts. A number of ski stations are likely to be out of action for the rest of the skiing season.

There is also widespread damage to agriculture and fisheries.

Several hundred thousand households still remain without electricity, in areas as far away from the coast as Burgundy and Champagne Ardennes.

Brittany and Lower Normandy were also hit badly by the storms where numerous buildings and homes were flooded.

The storm 'Xyanthia' arrived in France from the Spanish peninsular passing up the Atlantic coast to Belgium. There are reports of several deaths in Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Germany.

The French government has declared it a national emergency and announced the immediate release of €3 million in aid to deal with the catastrophe. The European Commission have also promised their support.

Although it is too early to count the financial cost, the cost of the Klaus storm in France in 2009 was €1.63 billion, while the 'storm of the century' that occurred in 1999 cost €6.9 billion, as well as 92 lives.

Who is to Blame?

Nicolas Sarkozy has announced that an inquiry will be held to find out why so many people died, and that a programme of reinforcement of coastal defences will be carried out. Around 10% of the thousands of kilometres of sea defences in the country are considered to be vulnerable.

Criticism is now growing of the failure of the authorities to undertake prior evacuation of people from their homes, when there was clear warning from Météo France that the storm would be violent, and that some coastal areas would be submerged by sea water.

The Minister in charge of the Environment, Chantal Jouanno, also stated that there will be a need to toughen the regulations on construction on the coast and on flood plains, deploring the fact that since the storms of 1999, more than 100,000 homes had been constructed in risk areas in France.

Legislation in 1995 introduced the planning status of 'risk zones' where development could not take place, or could only do so with conditions, and it is the adequacy of this legislation that is now being brought into question. Out of the 36,000 communes in France, less than 10,000 have a risk prevention plan in place.

A number of the developments caught by the most recent storm were built below sea level, and only protected from the sea by dykes that were constructed over a 100 years ago, or newly imported rocks, soil and sand.

There is also widespread criticism of the lack of proper maintenance of the dykes. Critics consider the existing jumble of local associations set up to maintain the dykes lack the financial ability and technical expertise to carry out their responsibilities. In most cases, while the local councils provide funding to these bodies, they do not have direct maintenance responsibility.

Many of these developments have gone ahead against the advice of experts and the wishes of local campaign groups, with mayors having caved in to pressure from developers for the construction of new seaside homes.