From the Sign'Eau site of the joint union of aquatic environments and rivers (Smmar) to the recent INSEE study on the risk of flooding in Occitanie, there is no shortage of indicators to understand that Aude is at the forefront on the subject natural disasters.
At the heart of the global warming hotspot that is the Mediterranean zone, the department is one of all dangers: approved in December 2023 by prefectural decree, the departmental file on major risks (DDRM) of Aude sets the scene.
183 municipalities combine eight natural or technological risks
433 Aude municipalities are affected by the flood-rapid flood risk, 374 by a land movement risk linked to a strong RGA hazard; 183 municipalities even have eight risks (natural, technological or specific, such as radon or dike failure). Over the period 1989-2019, the cumulative cost of flooding in the department is estimated at €745.8 million, placing Aude on the 3rd step of a sad podium in Occitanie (Gard with 3.8 billion then Hérault with 776 M€).
An amount obviously greatly linked to the dramatic episodes of 1999 and 2018 (25 and 15 deaths in the department). But which also reminds us of the reality of the flood risk, highlighted by the aquatic environments observatory, of the flood and drought risk of the Aude watershed: a sector where 91,460 inhabitants live in a flood zone.
The infographic opposite is based on data from the national observatory of natural risks (ONRN) with the potential extent of overflows (EAIP) of watercourses, and does not take into account the effects of hydraulic structures. These EAIPs should therefore not be confused with the zoning of flood or coastal risk prevention plans. The CCR portal (www.catastrophes-naturelles.ccr.fr) and the website of the observatory of aquatic environments, flood and drought risks in the Aude watershed (www.signeau.fr) compile a series data integrating these regulatory zonings.
