Before and after: Garonne river floods in south-west France

Satellite images reveal the dramatic flooding along the river Garonne after days of heavy rain and back-to-back storms in south-west France.

New aerial views captured on February 18 by imaging company Planet Labs show the Garonne spilling far beyond its banks between Agen and Langon, with wide swathes of farmland and urban areas submerged.

Part of the river has been put on maximum red flood alert since February 11 by state monitoring service Vigicrues.

Water levels rose rapidly as Storm Nils swept across western France on the night of February 11-12. 

A further low-pressure system, named Pedro, prolonged the flood surge. Flood monitoring service Vigicrues said rivers across the western half of the country were rising again even after rainfall eased.

In Marmande (Lot-et-Garonne), the Garonne reached 9.2 metres overnight on February 18-19, below the 10.35m peak recorded on February 14. 

One of the town’s two bridges remained closed, with 27 roads and five bridges still inaccessible across the department.

At La Réole (Gironde), the river again peaked midweek, though below last weekend’s high. 

Surrounding plains and several streets were inundated. Seventy-one roads were closed in Gironde on February 19, 5,400 homes were without electricity and 20,000 people lacked mobile phone coverage.

Further upstream at Tonneins, the river hit 9.56m on February 14, exceeding floods in 2021 and 2022 but remaining below the historic 10.72m level of March 1930.

The bill for property damage has already reached €1bn, according to the state-backed reinsurer, the Caisse centrale de réassurance, that underpins France’s natural disaster system. This has prompted fears that insurance premiums may have to rise.

Officials warn that clearer skies do not mean the danger has passed, as saturated ground continues to feed swollen waterways.