Floods, mudslides, drought… the state of natural disaster recognized in 320 municipalities, some in Occitania

l'état de catastrophe naturelle reconnu dans 320 communes de France. Midi Libre – ALAIN PERNIA

Ce samedi 3 août 2024, le Journal Officiel a publié deux arrêtés donnant une liste de 320 communes où l'état de catastrophe naturell est reconnu. 

The state of natural disaster was recognized in nearly 320 municipalities, according to two decrees published in the Official Journal on Saturday, for episodes of drought and floods occurring mainly in 2023 and the first half of 2024 .

Le Gard concerned

These two texts pave the way for the coverage of damage by the public reinsurer (the Central Reinsurance Fund, CCR) with insurance companies. The majority of municipalities concerned are affected by flooding. This is the case, for example, of Bordeaux (Gironde) for a stormy episode on June 18 and 19, 2024, of Bergerac (Dordogne, on May 5) or even of Thionville (Moselle, between May 16 and 21).

The other municipalities, including Nîmes (Gard) and Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), are affected due to drought, which favors the phenomenon of shrinkage-swelling of clays (RGA) weakening buildings.

Floods, mudslides, drought, but also avalanches or earthquakes: a natural disaster can be declared when one or more of these components occur with abnormal intensity. It is up to the administration to analyze, municipality by municipality, whether the conditions for recognizing this state are met. It is once the municipality has been declared to be in a state of natural disaster in the Official Journal that the compensation process can begin.

In metropolitan France, the natural disaster guarantee, included in property damage insurance contracts (for example, multi-risk home insurance contracts), covers all these perils except wind, which is subject to storm cover. The increase in natural disasters goes hand in hand with global warming.

To keep the public compensation system balanced, home insurance will increase significantly starting next year. The Ministry of the Economy decided at the end of last year that the “nat cat” surcharge on home insurance contracts will increase from 12% to 20% in 2025.

The two decrees issued on Saturday also list some 1,700 municipalities whose requests for recognition of a state of natural disaster have been rejected.