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A comparative analysis of the loss of life during two recent floods in France: the sea surge caused by the storm Xynthia and the flash flood in Var

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  • F. Vinet
  • D. Lumbroso
  • S. Defossez
  • L. Boissier

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse and compare the loss of life that occurred during two recent floods in France. The first flood was due to a sea surge triggered by the storm called Xynthia that hit the Atlantic coast on 28 February 2010 (41 flood-related deaths). The second was a flash flood that struck the Var Department in the French Mediterranean region on 15 June 2010 (26 fatalities). After detailing the assumptions and expected outcomes of the study of disaster-related fatalities, the paper focuses on the characteristics of the victims and the circumstances of their deaths. In the first case, 71% of the victims were people aged over 60 (mainly women) who were surprised while they were sleeping and who died in or near their homes. In the case of the flash flood, the profiles of the victims were diverse as the flooding occurred in the afternoon and many people were trapped in open. The paper also highlights the factors that explain mortality. Physical factors such as water depth were determined. The relationship between the water depth and the age of victims was found to be relevant. In the case of the storm surge Xynthia, the correlation between age and water depth is positive. For the flash flood, the correlation between age and water depth was negative as male adults died in open. In the first case, the vulnerability of people was closely linked to human features such as type of housing and age that people are not directly responsible for. During flash floods, dangerous behaviour by people highlighted the role of risk-taking in loss of life. We also examined the particular case of the deaths of the children. The paper concludes by discussing the factors of vulnerability on frail population such as elderly people or marginalized. The lack of risk awareness and crisis preparedness were clearly a major factor of vulnerability. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Suggested Citation

  • F. Vinet & D. Lumbroso & S. Defossez & L. Boissier, 2012. "A comparative analysis of the loss of life during two recent floods in France: the sea surge caused by the storm Xynthia and the flash flood in Var," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 61(3), pages 1179-1201, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:61:y:2012:i:3:p:1179-1201
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-011-9975-5
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Richert, Claire & Erdlenbruch, Katrin & Grelot, Frédéric, 2019. "The impact of flood management policies on individual adaptation actions: Insights from a French case study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Ioannis Kougkoulos & Myriam Merad & Simon J. Cook & Ioannis Andredakis, 2021. "Floods in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and lessons for French flood risk governance," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 109(2), pages 1959-1980, November.
    3. Olga Petrucci & Paola Salvati & Luigi Aceto & Cinzia Bianchi & Angela Aurora Pasqua & Mauro Rossi & Fausto Guzzetti, 2017. "The Vulnerability of People to Damaging Hydrogeological Events in the Calabria Region (Southern Italy)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-28, December.
    4. Xavier Romão & Esmeralda Paupério, 2016. "A framework to assess quality and uncertainty in disaster loss data," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 83(2), pages 1077-1102, September.
    5. Caridad Ballesteros & José A. Jiménez & Christophe Viavattene, 2018. "A multi-component flood risk assessment in the Maresme coast (NW Mediterranean)," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 90(1), pages 265-292, January.
    6. Sabri Alkan & Uğur Karadurmuş, 2023. "Risk assessment of natural and other hazard factors on drowning incidents in Turkey," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 118(3), pages 2459-2475, September.
    7. Dominik Paprotny & Heidi Kreibich & Oswaldo Morales-Nápoles & Dennis Wagenaar & Attilio Castellarin & Francesca Carisi & Xavier Bertin & Bruno Merz & Kai Schröter, 2021. "A probabilistic approach to estimating residential losses from different flood types," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 105(3), pages 2569-2601, February.
    8. Richert, Claire & Erdlenbruch, Katrin & Figuières, Charles, 2017. "The determinants of households' flood mitigation decisions in France - on the possibility of feedback effects from past investments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 342-352.
    9. Michalis Diakakis & Katerina Papagiannaki, 2021. "Characteristics of Indoor Flood Fatalities: Evidence from Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-15, August.
    10. Arezoo Yari & Homa Yousefi Khoshsabegheh & Yadolah Zarezadeh & Ali Ardalan & Mohsen Soufi Boubakran & Abbas Ostadtaghizadeh & Mohamad Esmaeil Motlagh, 2021. "Behavioral, health- related and demographic risk factors of death in floods: A case-control study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-16, December.
    11. Xianwu Shi & Shan Liu & Saini Yang & Qinzheng Liu & Jun Tan & Zhixing Guo, 2015. "Spatial–temporal distribution of storm surge damage in the coastal areas of China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 79(1), pages 237-247, October.
    12. Axel Creach & Emilio Bastidas-Arteaga & Sophie Pardo & Denis Mercier, 2019. "Adaptation of Residential Buildings to Coastal Floods: Strategies, Costs and Efficiency," Post-Print hal-04467886, HAL.

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