Floods: One month after the devastation

Animal casualties along the coast Copyright David Winch

From 4th to 10th November, between 300 and 500 millimetres of rain fell on the Var region, accompanied by gusts of up to 140 kilometres per hour on the Ile de Porquerolles.

Atrocious weather conditions were reported across Saint-Maximin, Brignoles and Caramy as well as the north of Draguignan, Artuby, Argens and Gapeau. River levels soared well above the norm, leaving animals in severe danger. Ten tonnes worth of animal corpses were found along the shores of the Var region, forcing people to see the true damage that the floods had caused to nature and wildlife.

Over 3,200 emergency interventions were made, with 512 homes evacuated and 2,552 people homeless. Consequently, 82 families were housed in temporary accommodation, including campsites in the valley of Argens, a retirement home in Barjols and areas of Fréjus and Hyères.

A total of two deaths were reported for the Var region – a couple in their 70’s from Bagnols-en-Forêt died from carbon monoxide fumes while trying to pump water out of their basement.

The Interior Minister Claude Guéant announced an emergency cash release of 300,000 euros on 7th November 2011 to cover three immediate areas of care. Some would go to the 225 families who needed food and essentials, equating to a total cost of 73,275 euros with an estimated 100,000 euros to come. Var businesses received 2,954 euros on 25th November to help them reopen. Meanwhile, funds have been released to enable emergency work to be carried out, including the restoration of seawalls and bridges. Around 2,500 euros has already been put into repairing the bridge on the RD7 near to Muy. Further financial supplies are expected to be released in the near future.

Businesses and small companies in the Var were hit hard by the floods, leaving more than 700 establishments in need, particularly farmers. The state declared the November floods in the Var and Côte d’Azur a natural disaster on 18th November 2011, allowing 92 Var towns and villages to push ahead with insurance claims. To this day, 51 communities have been covered by the PPRI (Plan de Prévention des Risques d’Inondation).

The FNGRA (Fonds National de Garantie des Risques en Agriculture) launched a compensation scheme on 10th November, allowing farmers to get the insurance claim ball rolling. Astonishingly, figures released by FFSA and GEMA show that an estimated 325 million euros worth of insurance claims are expected to be made in total. However, this figure is a lot less severe than that of the flood damages in the region in 2010.

Four offices have been set up in Draguignan, Brignoles, Roquebrune and Fréjus to aid rehousing, communal resources and compensation advice. The offices are categorised by agricultural and non-agricultural demands and will remain open until the need subsides. 

Meanwhile, other forms of help are at hand for Var businesses. Individual offices managed by the state have been put into action, giving extra support and advice to companies at a time of such economical stress. These include FISAC, who has been running since 8th November. The DGEFP has also stepped in, validating the idea of partial unemployment benefits for workers affected by temporary job loss. The organisation signed an agreement with the Union Patronale du Var, ordering the Ministry of Finance to provide workers with 100 per cent compensation, distributing a total of 350,000 euros to date. This was the case for 150 companies and up to 500 workers in the Var.

How to prevent these devastating floods from having such a major impact is now the focus. Two flood prevention programmes have been set up by PAPI (Programme d’Actions de Prévention des Inondations). The scheme hopes to better protect urban zones and to increase information on rising river waters and weather conditions for residents. The system is expected to take up to several years to fully get underway.

A provisional overall flood damage cost has been estimated at 14,102,426 euros. According to the Prefect of the Var, the Conseil Général du Var are estimated to have injected 2 million euros into the aftermath process, while 10,986,051 million euros accounts for flood and mudslide damages. 3,176,375 million euros has been reportedly spent on damages to irrigation.

The region seems to have fared a little better compared to last year's floods. Following the catastrophic events on 15th and 16th June 2010, 23 deaths and 2 disappearances were reported in the Var. A damage bill was set at a staggering 950 million euros.

Louise Kirby