Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced on Thursday the launch of procedures to recognize a state of natural disaster for municipalities affected by flooding in western France, assuring them of a "full mobilization" of the state and "compensation as quickly as possible" for those affected. Municipalities can submit their applications to accurately assess the damage, with the first cases expected to be reviewed by an interministerial commission next week.
This decision comes as several departments, including Maine-et-Loire, Charente-Maritime, Gironde, and Lot-et-Garonne, are under red alert by Vigicrues (the French flood monitoring service). The Garonne and Dordogne rivers have overflowed their banks, particularly in Bordeaux and Libourne, but have not caused major damage so far. In Maine-et-Loire, a man has been missing since Tuesday after his canoe capsized.
A prolonged weather event
Storm Pedro is currently sweeping across the country, bringing strong gusts of wind to already saturated ground after more than thirty consecutive days of rain—an unprecedented duration since records began in 1959, according to Météo-France. The previous week, Storm Nils had already caused significant damage in the southern half of the country.
According to the Central Reinsurance Fund, the cost of Storm Nils is estimated at around one billion euros for some 250,000 claims. The ongoing floods represent, at this stage, between 20 and 30 million euros in damages, primarily in the Southwest. For its part, France Assureurs has announced the deployment of a joint mission of insurers and experts to expedite compensation in the most difficult-to-access areas.
