“Rainfall exceeding 200 mm in 24 hours”: the State hammers home the right reflexes in the face of the risks of Mediterranean episodes

Les dernières crues de mars 2024 ont fait huit morts du Gard à l'Ardèche. Midi Libre – ALEXIS BETHUNE

Alors que l’on rentre dans la période la plus exposée aux phénomènes météorologiques, le préfet de la zone de défense et de sécurité sud a rappelé enjeux et outils d’information.

Repeat. Hammer. The State, through the voice of Christophe Mirmand, prefect of the South defense and security zone, also prefect of the Paca region, launched this week the rain – flood prevention campaign, in order to raise awareness among the inhabitants of the Mediterranean rim, 9 million people exposed to intense meteorological phenomena. At the risk of boring for the ninth consecutive year ? "In 2024, after violent storms on March 10, eight deaths were to be deplored in Gard and Ardèche after motorists were swept away by the floods for having taken flooded roads", introduced the State representative. QED. Repeating, hammering, will never be useless.

This seems obvious, but Christophe Mirmand therefore recalled that, from September to December, the territories closest to the Mediterranean are more exposed to dangerous phenomena. The cause is warm, humid and unstable air rising from the sea, which when meeting cold air at altitude can generate violent and sometimes stationary storms, especially at the end of summer. “These Mediterranean episodes can bring intense precipitation exceeding 200 mm in one day, or 200 liters per m². This is approximately 30% of the total rainfall over a year in the Gard", the prefect repeated.

67% of the municipalities experienced a sinister

The Gard, Ardèche, Hérault and Lozère are at the top of the departments where these episodes bringing more than 200 mm of rain in 24 hours are most often observed. With an increasingly significant economic cost, a consequence of strong urbanization that has made the soil impermeable:“since 1995, 67% of municipalities around the Mediterranean have experienced losses compensated by insurers under the natural disaster scheme for flooding”.

So, while the State has been working for several years to reduce the vulnerability of territories by financing flood prevention action programs (Papi), 1.3 billion euros since 2011 in more than 70 territories, in particular allowing work to protect people and property, it ensures that citizens are involved in anticipating events.

Ten reflexes, a kit 72 h…

To put the right messages in everyone's heads, the communication campaign will be orchestrated until the end of November in the fifteen departments concerned around the Mediterranean in different forms and on several media (YouTube, Spotify and Deezer, regional daily press, dedicated website) to reach the widest possible audience. This includes a reminder of the ten good reflexes to have in the event of heavy rain (postpone your trips, leave the children at school, take refuge upstairs, etc.), presents an emergency kit to prepare to live independently for 72 hours, and recalls the various monitoring systems (vigilance.meteo and vigiecrues) or alert systems, these being coordinated by local authorities, in conjunction with the Hérault company Predict, or the Ministry of the Interior.

The prefect also advised to carry out a self-diagnosis of the vulnerability of one's home or to keep a record of floods past “by flood markers affixed to buildings or structures”. In other words, to assimilate a culture of risk, as in the overseas territories regularly confronted with hurricanes and typhoons, to avoid deploring new human losses in the future.

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