Abstract
The reorganisation of the French flood warning system initiated in 2002 expresses the State’s motivation to improve the anticipation and reactivity of crisis management services. However, the example of the 2009 flood in the Garonne Marmandaise territory highlights vulnerabilities in institutional warnings, resulting partly from the reorganisation of the flood warning system. Although this flood was perceived as ordinary by the mayors, several communities were flooded and became isolated. The present study focuses on adjustments carried out by stakeholders during the flood warning process. The concept of robustness is applied to the French flood warning system through the analysis of (1) the resources mobilised by stakeholders to process the warning, (2) the constraints that hinder their actions, (3) the interactions and the efforts of coordination that link stakeholders within the system. Our results indicate that the robustness of the flood warning system partially rests upon the coping capacities present at a local level. Indeed, these coping capacities allowed institutional vulnerabilities to be overcome during the 2009 event. In addition, feedback engaged after the 2009 flood favoured interactions and sharing of lay and scientific knowledge among the French flood warning system stakeholders. These interactions reinforced both the French flood warning system’s robustness and coping capacities at a local level.
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Notes
Service de Prévision des Crues.
Service Central d’Hydrométéorologie et d’Appui à la Prévision des Inondations.
Service d’Annonce des Crues.
France is made up of 101 départements that are divided into 36,700 municipalities. Each municipality is governed by a mayor and a municipal council.
Loi n°2004-811 de modernisation de la sécurité civile de 2004—Law n°2004-811 about the Civil Defence Modernisation.
≃21 % of the hydrographical network is monitored by the SCHAPI-SPCs in 2011.
The flood warning dissemination system is ensured by automatic warning systems.
Départemental Directorate of Territories in charge of the land-use planning measures, natural hazards prevention (…) at the départemental level.
Emergency Preparedness & Response Organisation/Organisation de la Réponse de SÉcurité Civile.
The centralisation of the emergency services process committed to by the law of 3rd May 1996 regrouped in a same départemental public structure (SDIS) the firefighter services which previously depended on municipalities or inter communal structures.
“Réserve communale de sécurité civile" defined in the law of 2004.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the funding support provided by the French National Research Agency (ANR ANR 09-RISK_001 AMAC) and all the interviewees. The authors also gratefully acknowledge researchers Laurence Créton-Cazanave and Brice Barret for their fruitful comments. Finally, we wish to thank the reviewers, whose constructive comments helped us to significantly improve this paper.
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Appendix
Appendix
Indicator components for each index | Weight | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Risk Evaluation Index (REI) | |||
REI1 | Historical flood data archives | 0.2 | |
REI2 | Hazard evaluation | 0.3 | |
REI3 | Hazard mapping | 0.2 | |
REI3 | Vulnerability and risk assessment | 0.3 | |
Risk Prevention Index (RPI) | |||
RPI1 | Public awareness | 0.4 | |
RPI1a | Institutional informative document about risks | ||
RPI1b | Municipal newspapers | ||
RPI1c | Regular information meetings | ||
RPI1d | Meetings with new inhabitants | ||
RPI1e | Museum or cultural events dealing with water culture | ||
RPI2 | Evolution of the built environment between 1971 and 2009 in the floodplain | 0.2 | |
RPI2a | % > 30% | ||
RPI2b | 21 < % < 29 | ||
RPI2c | 6 < % < 20 | ||
RPI2d | 1 < % < 5 | ||
RPI2e | 0 < % < 1 | ||
RPI2f | % < 0 | ||
RPI3 | Implementation of hazard event control & protection techniques | 0.4 | |
RPI3a | Very high | ||
RPI3b | High | ||
RPI3c | Low | ||
RPI3d | Very low | ||
Crisis Preparedness Index (CPI) | |||
CPI1 | External communication resources | 0.2 | |
CPI2 | Local preventive organisation involving riverside residents | 0.2 | |
CPI2a | High level of organisation with citizen participation | ||
CPI2b | Medium level of organisation with citizen participation | ||
CPI2c | No organisation and no citizen participation | ||
CPI3 | Emergency management plan and implementation of warning systems | 0.3 | |
CPI3a | Action plan mapping | ||
CPI3b | Businesses and critical infrastructure referenced as exposed to floods | ||
CPI3c | Riverside residents relocation identified | ||
CPI3d | Vigicrues mentioned in the existing emergency action plan | ||
CPI3e | Telephone directory of vulnerable inhabitants | ||
CPI4 | Material resources | 0.3 | |
CPI4a | Presence of boats in the community | ||
CPI4b | Fire station existing in the municipality | ||
CPI4c | Generators in case of power cuts | ||
CPI4d | The crisis unit protected from major floods | ||
Flood Management Index (FMI) | |||
FMI1 | Anticipatory protection actions to infrastructure and riverside residents | 0.3 | |
FMI1a | High anticipation before floods (with or without official alert) | ||
FMI1b | Medium anticipation before floods (after receiving the official alert)/Real-time action during the flood without official alert | ||
FMI1c | Monitoring of the event without action after the flood starts without official alert/Actions undertaken after the flood starts and the official alert reception | ||
FMI1d | No reactivity after the official alert coming before the flood starts | ||
FMI1e | No reactivity after the flood starts occurring before the official alert and no reactivity after the alert | ||
FMI2 | Mayors’ Flood analysis | 0.4 | |
FMI2a | Use of information resulting from Vigicrues | ||
FMI2b | Using text message and/or email coming from the départemental crisis management service | ||
FMI2c | Using collective assessment with riverside residents | ||
FMI2d | Empirical assessment by outdoor watchfulness of the Garonne river | ||
FMI3 | Riverside residents alert | 0.3 | |
FMI3a | Outdoor sirens | ||
FMI3b | Display point at the council | ||
FMI3c | Telephone call | ||
FMI3d | Door to door | ||
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Daupras, F., Antoine, J.M., Becerra, S. et al. Analysis of the robustness of the French flood warning system: a study based on the 2009 flood of the Garonne River. Nat Hazards 75, 215–241 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-014-1318-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-014-1318-x