Towns in France race to improve flood defences

Towns in France are making greater efforts to improve flood defences as government estimates show a quarter of people now live in areas at risk of flooding.

Vaison-la-Romaine, in Vaucluse, which saw 37 people die in floods in September 1992, has since strengthened dykes and river banks, created new floodplains and widened the river bed upstream of the town.

One of the worst affected sites was a riverside camping ground, which has now been moved to higher ground and the old site left as a floodplain.

Similarly, a housing estate on low-lying ground near the river was demolished, and the area restored to natural terrain so it would act as a floodplain and absorb water.

In addition to this work, residents in homes deemed at risk of flooding have been asked to prepare for the worst by having escape routes planned and bags pre-packed with necessities if they need to leave quickly.

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Be prepared for flooding

“We recognise that if we get the sort of rain we had in September 1992 again, the town will flood again, but we hope not as badly and that people will be prepared,” said Audrey Ceccaldi of the Syndicat Mixte De L'Ouvèze Provençale, which oversaw the work.

Another deadly flood hit the town of Draguignan in Var in June 2010. There, too, much of the flood prevention work has focused on widening the river in the town, where it was constrained by narrow concrete banks, and both upstream and downstream.

The town also managed to escape reasonably unscathed from the floods in May this year, which caused much damage to the south, particularly in the communes of Vidauban, La Môle, Cavalaire and Le Lavandou.

Further north in Loir-et-Cher, a planned housing estate on the site of the former Matra car factory in Romorantin-Lanthenay encountered planning permission problems because the site was judged to be in a flood zone.

The town hired urban architect Eric Daniel-Lacombe, whose solution incorporated 180 houses on six hectares, with the ground floors and even the pavements raised. Gardens were aligned so that they did not impede the flow of flood water.

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Flooding avoided

The first residents had just moved in when, in June 2016, the area flooded. Mr Daniel-Lacombe had the satisfaction of seeing the pavements avoid being swamped and no water entering houses and flats.

Not all towns with flood defences have been able to advance quickly.

Nîmes suffered terrible floods in 1988, in which nine people died and 45,000 people’s properties were impacted.

Since then various works have gradually reduced the likelihood of flooding from one year in two, to one year in four. However, it will only be in 2028 that work to cut the risk to one year in 20 will be completed.

Residents have also been better informed about the risks and ways to prepare. In 2022, news footage of floods saw cars floating down streets full of fast-flowing water, but no one was badly hurt.

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Home insurance premiums rise

With climate change forecast to increase the likelihood of extreme weather events in future, house insurance costs are also rising.

Data from online insurance broker Selectra shows house insurance in Brittany now costs around €25 a month, while in Paris and the Paris region the price is likely to be €40.

Across France household insurance prices are expected to rise by between 5% and 10% this year.

“The higher risk of natural catastrophes and burglaries in the Paris region account for the difference,” the Selectra report states.