Résumé : De part leur rapidité d'occurrence, les crues torrentielles méditerranéennes sont tr... more Résumé : De part leur rapidité d'occurrence, les crues torrentielles méditerranéennes sont très meurtrières en France. Pourtant les victimes sont peu étudiées dans un but de prévention. Cet article présente les premiers résultats d'une étude qui s'attache à recenser les décès liés aux inondations dans le Sud de la France sur la période 1988-2008. Centrée ici sur la région Languedoc-Roussillon, l'analyse de la vulnérabilté humaine aux crues montre une surreprésentation des hommes de 50 ans dans des décès souvent liés aux déplacements. L'article met ensuite en évidence les relations entre les paramètres hydroclimatiques des épisodes cévenols, les caractéristiques des bassins versants et la mortalité. Ces relations se traduisent par une relative dangerosité des petits bassins versants tandis que le seuil de 100 mm en 24 heures apparaît comme la précipitation-seuil au delà duquel des décès sont à envisager. Abstract: Hydroclimatic parameters and flash casualities. A ...
The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate ... more The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate change or by the failure of flood defenses, as was the storm Xynthia that hit the western part of France in February 2010. However such phenomena of marine flooding linked to windstorm have already struck the Atlantic coast in the past. Material and human damage were lower although natural conditions were quite similar. The difference lies in the urbanization that has widely grown for fifty years. Our goal is to show that the toll of the Xynthia storm is not essentially due to an exceptional marine flooding phenomenon. On the contrary, it is due to the accumulation of vulnerable assets in flood prone zone. The study mainly relies on the seven communes of Charente-Maritime and Vendée which suffered human losses. The densification of urbanization and more generally the lack of land use control led to an anarchic development of assets at risk especially touristic plants and secondary homes....
The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate ... more The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate change or by the failure of flood defenses, as was the storm Xynthia that hit the western part of France in February 2010. However such phenomena of marine flooding linked to windstorm have already struck the Atlantic coast in the past. Material and human damage were lower although natural conditions were quite similar. The difference lies in the urbanization that has widely grown for fifty years. Our goal is to show that the toll of the Xynthia storm is not essentially due to an exceptional marine flooding phenomenon. On the contrary, it is due to the accumulation of vulnerable assets in flood prone zone. The study mainly relies on the seven communes of Charente-Maritime and Vendée which suffered human losses. The densification of urbanization and more generally the lack of land use control led to an anarchic development of assets at risk especially touristic plants and secondary homes....
– The contribution presents the database on floods (1981-2010) that is being developed in the fra... more – The contribution presents the database on floods (1981-2010) that is being developed in the framework of HYMEX project and the preliminary results obtained for the NW sector of Mediterranean region. This database contains data on damages and the main hydrometeorological features of each reported event. The study is included in one of the objectives of the Working Group 5, which is a transversal group of the HYMEX project dealing with all the aspects related to societal and ecological impacts of hydrometeorological extremes, as well as their perception and communication processes. One of the main points of the WG5 is the creation of a common database on floods and their societal impact, for the Mediterranean region, as well as its analysis. Although some databases already exist and are frequently consulted, they are mainly focused on " major " catastrophic events. But the Mediterranean region experiences every year a high number of minor flash-floods that, considered in their totality, produce important losses and disruptions of the everyday life. This contribution is focused on NorthEastern Spain, South of Italy and SouthEast of France and the objective is to include all the floods that have produced damages, although they are not considered as " major " disasters. Les inondations dans le nord-ouest de la Méditerranée : comparaison avec les bases de données globales RÉSUMÉ. – La contribution présente la base de données sur les inondations développée dans le cadre du projet HYMEX et les résultats préliminaires obtenus pour la partie nord-ouest de la région méditerranéenne. Cette base de données, couvrant la période 1981-2010, contient des données sur les dommages et sur les principales caractéristiques hydro-météorologiques de chaque événement inventorié. L'étude constitue l'un des objectifs du groupe de travail 5, groupe transversal du projet HYMEX qui traite des impacts sociétaux et écologiques des phénomènes hydrométéorologiques extrêmes, de leur perception et de la communication. L'un des principaux chantiers du groupe de travail 5 est la création et l'analyse d'une base de données commune sur les inondations et leurs impacts sociétaux dans les pays méditerranéens. Bien que certaines bases de données existent déjà et soient fréquemment consultées, elles visent principalement les évé-nements majeurs. Mais la Méditerranée connaît chaque année un nombre élevé de crues éclairs mineures qui, considérées dans leur ensemble, produisent d'importantes pertes et perturbent les activités socio-économiques. Cette contribution est axée sur le nord-est de l'Espagne, le sud de l'Italie et le sud-est de la France. L'objectif est d'inclure toutes les inonda-tions qui ont produit des dommages, même si elles ne sont pas considérées comme des catastrophes.
ABSTRACT The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the... more ABSTRACT The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate change or by the failure of flood defenses, as was the storm Xynthia that hit the western part of France in February 2010. However such phenomena of marine flooding linked to windstorm have already struck the Atlantic coast in the past. Material and human damage were lower although natural conditions were quite similar. The difference lies in the urbanization that has widely grown for fifty years. Our goal is to show that the toll of the Xynthia storm is not essentially due to an exceptional marine flooding phenomenon. On the contrary, it is due to the accumulation of vulnerable assets in flood prone zone. The study mainly relies on the seven communes of Charente-Maritime and Vendée which suffered human losses. The densification of urbanization and more generally the lack of land use control led to an anarchic development of assets at risk especially touristic plants and secondary homes. The marine flooding generated by Xynthia Storm has probably a low return period but the low frequency phenomenon has met very rapid territorial dynamics. Thus the process of “production of risk” had been very fast. A quite uninhabited space can be turned into an highly urbanized territory within thirty years. This example reminds that the measures of prevention of risk, especially land use planning must be taken and assessed on the long term because their transgression is irreversible.
The NW Mediterranean region experiences every
year heavy rainfall and flash floods that occasiona... more The NW Mediterranean region experiences every year heavy rainfall and flash floods that occasionally produce catastrophic damages. Less frequent are floods that affect large regions. Although a large number of databases devoted exclusively to floods or considering all kind of natural hazards do exist, usually they only record catastrophic flood events. This paper deals with the new flood database that is being developed within the framework of HYMEX project. Results are focused on four regions representative of the NW sector of Mediterranean Europe: Catalonia, Spain; the Balearic Islands, Spain; Calabria, Italy; and Languedoc- Roussillon, Midi-Pyr´en´ees and PACA, France. The common available 30-yr period starts in 1981 and ends in 2010. The paper shows the database structure and criteria, the comparison with other flood databases, some statistics on spatial and temporal distribution, and an identification of the most important events. The paper also provides a table that includes the date and affected region of all the catastrophic events identified in the regions of study, in order to make this information available for all audiences.
Résumé : De part leur rapidité d'occurrence, les crues torrentielles méditerranéennes sont tr... more Résumé : De part leur rapidité d'occurrence, les crues torrentielles méditerranéennes sont très meurtrières en France. Pourtant les victimes sont peu étudiées dans un but de prévention. Cet article présente les premiers résultats d'une étude qui s'attache à recenser les décès liés aux inondations dans le Sud de la France sur la période 1988-2008. Centrée ici sur la région Languedoc-Roussillon, l'analyse de la vulnérabilté humaine aux crues montre une surreprésentation des hommes de 50 ans dans des décès souvent liés aux déplacements. L'article met ensuite en évidence les relations entre les paramètres hydroclimatiques des épisodes cévenols, les caractéristiques des bassins versants et la mortalité. Ces relations se traduisent par une relative dangerosité des petits bassins versants tandis que le seuil de 100 mm en 24 heures apparaît comme la précipitation-seuil au delà duquel des décès sont à envisager. Abstract: Hydroclimatic parameters and flash casualities. A ...
The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate ... more The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate change or by the failure of flood defenses, as was the storm Xynthia that hit the western part of France in February 2010. However such phenomena of marine flooding linked to windstorm have already struck the Atlantic coast in the past. Material and human damage were lower although natural conditions were quite similar. The difference lies in the urbanization that has widely grown for fifty years. Our goal is to show that the toll of the Xynthia storm is not essentially due to an exceptional marine flooding phenomenon. On the contrary, it is due to the accumulation of vulnerable assets in flood prone zone. The study mainly relies on the seven communes of Charente-Maritime and Vendée which suffered human losses. The densification of urbanization and more generally the lack of land use control led to an anarchic development of assets at risk especially touristic plants and secondary homes....
The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate ... more The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate change or by the failure of flood defenses, as was the storm Xynthia that hit the western part of France in February 2010. However such phenomena of marine flooding linked to windstorm have already struck the Atlantic coast in the past. Material and human damage were lower although natural conditions were quite similar. The difference lies in the urbanization that has widely grown for fifty years. Our goal is to show that the toll of the Xynthia storm is not essentially due to an exceptional marine flooding phenomenon. On the contrary, it is due to the accumulation of vulnerable assets in flood prone zone. The study mainly relies on the seven communes of Charente-Maritime and Vendée which suffered human losses. The densification of urbanization and more generally the lack of land use control led to an anarchic development of assets at risk especially touristic plants and secondary homes....
– The contribution presents the database on floods (1981-2010) that is being developed in the fra... more – The contribution presents the database on floods (1981-2010) that is being developed in the framework of HYMEX project and the preliminary results obtained for the NW sector of Mediterranean region. This database contains data on damages and the main hydrometeorological features of each reported event. The study is included in one of the objectives of the Working Group 5, which is a transversal group of the HYMEX project dealing with all the aspects related to societal and ecological impacts of hydrometeorological extremes, as well as their perception and communication processes. One of the main points of the WG5 is the creation of a common database on floods and their societal impact, for the Mediterranean region, as well as its analysis. Although some databases already exist and are frequently consulted, they are mainly focused on " major " catastrophic events. But the Mediterranean region experiences every year a high number of minor flash-floods that, considered in their totality, produce important losses and disruptions of the everyday life. This contribution is focused on NorthEastern Spain, South of Italy and SouthEast of France and the objective is to include all the floods that have produced damages, although they are not considered as " major " disasters. Les inondations dans le nord-ouest de la Méditerranée : comparaison avec les bases de données globales RÉSUMÉ. – La contribution présente la base de données sur les inondations développée dans le cadre du projet HYMEX et les résultats préliminaires obtenus pour la partie nord-ouest de la région méditerranéenne. Cette base de données, couvrant la période 1981-2010, contient des données sur les dommages et sur les principales caractéristiques hydro-météorologiques de chaque événement inventorié. L'étude constitue l'un des objectifs du groupe de travail 5, groupe transversal du projet HYMEX qui traite des impacts sociétaux et écologiques des phénomènes hydrométéorologiques extrêmes, de leur perception et de la communication. L'un des principaux chantiers du groupe de travail 5 est la création et l'analyse d'une base de données commune sur les inondations et leurs impacts sociétaux dans les pays méditerranéens. Bien que certaines bases de données existent déjà et soient fréquemment consultées, elles visent principalement les évé-nements majeurs. Mais la Méditerranée connaît chaque année un nombre élevé de crues éclairs mineures qui, considérées dans leur ensemble, produisent d'importantes pertes et perturbent les activités socio-économiques. Cette contribution est axée sur le nord-est de l'Espagne, le sud de l'Italie et le sud-est de la France. L'objectif est d'inclure toutes les inonda-tions qui ont produit des dommages, même si elles ne sont pas considérées comme des catastrophes.
ABSTRACT The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the... more ABSTRACT The huge aftermaths of disasters remain (too) often explained, through the media, by the climate change or by the failure of flood defenses, as was the storm Xynthia that hit the western part of France in February 2010. However such phenomena of marine flooding linked to windstorm have already struck the Atlantic coast in the past. Material and human damage were lower although natural conditions were quite similar. The difference lies in the urbanization that has widely grown for fifty years. Our goal is to show that the toll of the Xynthia storm is not essentially due to an exceptional marine flooding phenomenon. On the contrary, it is due to the accumulation of vulnerable assets in flood prone zone. The study mainly relies on the seven communes of Charente-Maritime and Vendée which suffered human losses. The densification of urbanization and more generally the lack of land use control led to an anarchic development of assets at risk especially touristic plants and secondary homes. The marine flooding generated by Xynthia Storm has probably a low return period but the low frequency phenomenon has met very rapid territorial dynamics. Thus the process of “production of risk” had been very fast. A quite uninhabited space can be turned into an highly urbanized territory within thirty years. This example reminds that the measures of prevention of risk, especially land use planning must be taken and assessed on the long term because their transgression is irreversible.
The NW Mediterranean region experiences every
year heavy rainfall and flash floods that occasiona... more The NW Mediterranean region experiences every year heavy rainfall and flash floods that occasionally produce catastrophic damages. Less frequent are floods that affect large regions. Although a large number of databases devoted exclusively to floods or considering all kind of natural hazards do exist, usually they only record catastrophic flood events. This paper deals with the new flood database that is being developed within the framework of HYMEX project. Results are focused on four regions representative of the NW sector of Mediterranean Europe: Catalonia, Spain; the Balearic Islands, Spain; Calabria, Italy; and Languedoc- Roussillon, Midi-Pyr´en´ees and PACA, France. The common available 30-yr period starts in 1981 and ends in 2010. The paper shows the database structure and criteria, the comparison with other flood databases, some statistics on spatial and temporal distribution, and an identification of the most important events. The paper also provides a table that includes the date and affected region of all the catastrophic events identified in the regions of study, in order to make this information available for all audiences.
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year heavy rainfall and flash floods that occasionally produce
catastrophic damages. Less frequent are floods that affect
large regions. Although a large number of databases devoted
exclusively to floods or considering all kind of natural
hazards do exist, usually they only record catastrophic
flood events. This paper deals with the new flood database
that is being developed within the framework of HYMEX
project. Results are focused on four regions representative of
the NW sector of Mediterranean Europe: Catalonia, Spain;
the Balearic Islands, Spain; Calabria, Italy; and Languedoc-
Roussillon, Midi-Pyr´en´ees and PACA, France. The common
available 30-yr period starts in 1981 and ends in 2010. The
paper shows the database structure and criteria, the comparison
with other flood databases, some statistics on spatial
and temporal distribution, and an identification of the most
important events. The paper also provides a table that includes
the date and affected region of all the catastrophic
events identified in the regions of study, in order to make
this information available for all audiences.
year heavy rainfall and flash floods that occasionally produce
catastrophic damages. Less frequent are floods that affect
large regions. Although a large number of databases devoted
exclusively to floods or considering all kind of natural
hazards do exist, usually they only record catastrophic
flood events. This paper deals with the new flood database
that is being developed within the framework of HYMEX
project. Results are focused on four regions representative of
the NW sector of Mediterranean Europe: Catalonia, Spain;
the Balearic Islands, Spain; Calabria, Italy; and Languedoc-
Roussillon, Midi-Pyr´en´ees and PACA, France. The common
available 30-yr period starts in 1981 and ends in 2010. The
paper shows the database structure and criteria, the comparison
with other flood databases, some statistics on spatial
and temporal distribution, and an identification of the most
important events. The paper also provides a table that includes
the date and affected region of all the catastrophic
events identified in the regions of study, in order to make
this information available for all audiences.