Switzerland counts the cost of Hurricane Lothar

In a special audio report, Theo Leggett examines the economic impact of Hurricane Lothar. The storm swept through Switzerland in the last week of December, killing at least 14 people and destroying huge swathes of forest.

In this report, we speak to sawmill owners in the tiny central Swiss canton of Nidwalden about their fears of a glut of cheap and poor quality wood on the market.

The head of the Timber Industry and Sawmills Association explains what measures he would like to see the government take to minimise the impact. More than 11 million cubic metres of wood were blown down in a single day, more than is usually felled by the industry in a whole year.

And we hear from the Swiss branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) why the best thing for the forest would be to leave the wood where it is.