More and more common and intense, floods constitute one of the vital primary dangers of herbal screw ups in France. They’re very pricey in human and subject material phrases. A learn about carried out a few of the inhabitants within the involved spaces, on the other hand, unearths that voters are poorly knowledgeable about those dangers, regardless of the criminal legal responsibility of municipalities to prepare preventive campaigns. The motive is continuously diminished chance and insufficient verbal exchange.
The Var division, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, was once hit in Might 2025 via floods that led to vital assets injury and the loss of life of 3 other folks. In France, as in Spain on the finish of 2024, in Texas (2025) or in Cameroon (2024), episodes of intense flooding are turning into extra common. This primary chance is, in lots of spaces, exacerbated via local weather alternate.
On this context, municipalities are obliged to tell their citizens concerning the related dangers. However their prevention campaigns continuously turn out useless.
To know the explanations, we carried out a qualitative learn about in 3 communes within the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes area specifically uncovered to flooding: Saint-Alire (northern suburb of Clermont-Ferrand), Cournon-d’Auvergne and Les Martres-de-Veire, in Puy-de-Do. Those spaces are threatened, and several other settlements are uncovered to 10-year and 100-year floods.
The learn about, which aimed to judge the effectiveness of those prevention campaigns, was once in keeping with a double method: complete interviews with 50 native citizens and a questionnaire survey of 120 different citizens, specializing in their belief of flood chance and their appropriation of prevention messages.
According to the learn about of the perceptions and behaviour of the native inhabitants, right here we analyze the shortcomings of consciousness campaigns and discover the shortcomings of institutional verbal exchange. We additionally counsel tactics for higher adoption of preventive messages.
Responsibilities of criminal data
In line with local weather projections, flood injury is anticipated to additional building up within the coming years, with persevered local weather disruption leading to an building up within the quantity, depth and period of intense rainfall, particularly in Europe.
To give protection to citizens, French regulation no. 87-565 of July 22, 1987 calls for the mayors of the respective municipalities to tell their constituents concerning the dangers thru municipal data paperwork at the primary dangers (or, Dicrim), specifying the conduct to be followed, the spaces of chance and the preventive measures taken.
This record is “sent by the city councils, mostly at the time of (its) production and (its) updating, or even when they receive apartment lease contracts.” Then the next query arises: is it sufficient to make to be had municipal paperwork on herbal dangers to forestall and lift consciousness a few of the inhabitants in query?
How do the respondents in our learn about evaluation those municipal paperwork on flood chance?
Little knowledgeable citizens
Even if those paperwork had been produced within the 3 municipalities studied, we discovered that their effectiveness in elevating consciousness was once restricted.
Take the case of the district of Saint-Alire in Clermont-Ferrand: out of 40 citizens, handiest two knew that their district, doubtlessly uncovered to a hundred-year flood affecting as much as 36,400 population, was once in peril.
In Martres-de-Veire, lower than 10% of respondents knew elementary protection directions, similar to turning off the electrical energy or no longer touring in a automotive right through a flood.
Examples of native and nationwide prevention paperwork used right through the 2022 survey Dicrim Clermont-Ferrand, Vigicrue 2022, equipped via the writer
Different respondents emphasize other facets within the content material of Dicrima, as evidenced via the next feedback:
“There are no words: ‘Beware of the flood!’ For me, this poster is not significant…” testified the respondent (18-30 years previous), a tenant in Saint Alire.
“The picture has to be bigger to reflect the flood, because there it looks like a small stream,” underlines the respondent (45-60 years previous) proprietor in Martres-de-Veire.
This alarming statement raises the query of whether or not prevention campaigns are truly tailored to the tips wishes of voters. A number of elements give an explanation for this low appropriation.
Imprecise and vague data
The primary distinguished part is Dicrim’s loss of personalization and readability. In 39 interviews, native citizens famous a loss of visible readability, criticizing impartial pictures or the selection of calming colours similar to blue, that are not going to alert other folks to upcoming risk.
Flood chance map (highlighted in blue) within the Clermont-Ferrand area. Pui-de-Dome prevention plan, equipped via the writer
Those visible alternatives diminish the have an effect on of the message via giving a misconception of safety.
“I think the blue color is quite reassuring. We don’t have much to worry about. I’m not saying we should alarm people, but if we’re talking about risk, the color has to go with it,” provides some other respondent (31-45 years previous), proprietor of her space in Cournon-d’Auvergne.
Moreover, greater than 60% of surveyed citizens consider that those paperwork are too technical and common. The absence of easy maps that permit citizens to spot the precise spaces in peril of their municipality reinforces mental distance from risk (the map above handiest speaks of low, medium or prime chance, editor’s observe). Within the absence of transparent visible parts, it’s tough for citizens to really feel in my view involved concerning the dangers.
To be efficient, municipal data paperwork will have to additionally include sensible suggestions and urban examples. On the other hand, those parts are continuously overshadowed via common descriptions of town corridor procedures.
In a single explicit case, 75% of respondents may no longer establish precedence directions in case of flooding. The motive is an overload of details about administrative procedures and insurance policies established via the government.
Ambiguity of municipalities
Actually, maximum municipalities are happy with complying with the minimal required data on dangers – herbal or commercial.
For the latter, maps are to be had that constitute chance spaces, however aren’t the topic of in depth verbal exchange, as though native government are content material to conform to their criminal duties with out the will to put in force actual prevention a few of the inhabitants. Within the 3 municipalities studied, a 3rd of the 120 citizens say they have got by no means gained details about the native chance.
This conduct is defined via the underestimation of dangers, each via elected officers and via voters.
Elected officers are continuously stuck within the heart: they have got a duty to keep up a correspondence, however they concern the political penalties of putting an excessive amount of emphasis on unsure dangers. Subsequently, they want extra visual and fast subjects, similar to safety and financial construction.
This warning is strengthened via the loss of power from citizens, who continuously have little interest in seeing the chance highlighted for concern that their assets shall be devalued via the chance of flooding.
And with just right explanation why: when the regulation mandates chance dimension, it leads to the introduction of flood zone maps. On the other hand, research have proven that promoting this mapping is one issue amongst others (restrictive rules, common flooding, and many others.) that negatively impacts commodity costs in flood zones within the quick or medium time period.
Concrete and simplified data
So as to strengthen the effectiveness of prevention campaigns, there are a number of tactics.
Probably the most attention-grabbing instructions can be to want actual maps and native pictures appearing explicit examples of flood-affected spaces within the municipality. Nearly 70% of respondents mentioned {that a} transparent map, which lets them find their house with regards to chance spaces, would inspire them to arrange extra critically. This sort of visible instrument is helping citizens visualize the possible have an effect on of flooding, thereby expanding their engagement.
As well as, it is strongly recommended to simplify the messages. Dicrim may center of attention on an inventory of quick, direct directions, similar to “Go upstairs in case of flooding” or “Listen to the local news to stay informed.”
Such an manner desirous about explicit behaviors would keep away from an overload of administrative data that dilutes the effectiveness of preventive messages. Notice that 72% of research individuals most well-liked quick, sensible directions to lengthy institutional descriptions.
Extra significant verbal exchange
Moreover, together with the tales of native citizens suffering from the floods would lend a hand humanize verbal exchange and create closeness. Then again, some interviewees counsel the inclusion of herbal chance prevention at school techniques to create a tradition of chance: “This should not be at the request of teachers depending on the context and type of lesson. This must be included in the national program,” says a trainer (31-45), proprietor in Martres-de-Veire.
“We have to make short films and cartoons if we target children. Above all, we must not make the public responsible, but raise awareness. It is more effective if we want to have a risk culture. We also have to develop critical thinking from the faculty, this would help to better understand the phenomena associated with natural risks”, suggests a pupil from Clermont (18-30 years previous).
The result of this learn about spotlight that present consciousness campaigns fail to seize the eye of citizens sufficiently to create an actual flood chance tradition.
Via attractive citizens in additional suitable campaigns and clarifying visible and academic messages, municipalities will give a contribution to the collective consciousness very important to proscribing human and financial injury from long term floods.
