Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), report
It’s 2:25 p.m. this Thursday in December when the loudspeaker comes on: « Tsunami alert. Evacuate the seaside immediately. » The pace is pressing. Louise is out of breath. With her third grade class, the schoolgirl walks with her back to the port of Mouré Rouge in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes). She took the right direction: « The first basics »heading with your back to the sea following the small arrows on the ground. She ran: a bad reflex, because, as in any evacuation exercise, you should never run to avoid injury, watch out for cars, orient yourself well and avoid panic. This alert is a « exercise »repeats the speaker three times.
Twenty years after the tsunami which devastated South-East Asia and caused more than 250,000 deaths, the threat of submersion is taken seriously on the Côte d'Azur. On December 16, 2024, a magnitude 3.7 earthquake occurred off the coast of Monaco, with tremors felt throughout the region, reminding us that the risk was very present.
« Seismic faults move regularly »
Cannes is therefore preparing to face the wave. It is the first city in mainland France and the Mediterranean to obtain UNESCO certification. Tsunami ready “. Its warning systems, full-scale tests and evacuation signage are recognized by the UN organization. Reporterre followed by a tsunami simulation exercise, as is carried out throughout the year.
Around fifteen refuge sites have been defined in Cannes in the event of a tsunami.
© Laurent Carré / Reporterre
The sea is oily in the port. Offshore, the waves amuse windsurfing and kitesurfing enthusiasts. It's hard to imagine a tsunami on the coast of Cannes. « This risk exists in the Mediterranean »however, explains Bernardo Aliaga, head of the tsunami resilience section at UNESCO.
According to the organization, the probability of a wave of more than one meter in the Mediterranean in the next thirty years is close to 100 %, while a rise of water of 50 centimeters is enough to carry away trash cans and cars. « Seismic faults are activesays Yannick Ferrand, director of major risks at Cannes. They move regularly. »
« If people are not informed, it could turn into a disaster. »
A wave after an earthquake off the coast of Algiers would arrive on the Côte d'Azur in 1 hour 10 minutes, a movement of water on the Ligurian fault (between Corsica and the continent) would be felt ten minutes later. « We can't stand on our feet. If you don't hang on to a tree, you end up falling »describes Bernardo Aliaga.
Louise was not born when, in 2004, a tsunami swept across the coasts of the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people. « It was an awareness that we could reduce the impact on human losses thanks to the prevention of the coastal populationcontinues the UNESCO expert. If people are not informed, it could turn into a disaster. » This prevention involves learning the culture of risk.
Signs all over town
In Cannes, schoolchildren, seniors, beachgoers and fishermen are made aware. They know that they must take refuge at an altitude of five meters or 200 meters from the shore. Everywhere in town, there are small signs on poles and buttons on the ground with the wave symbol. Their arrows indicate the path to follow until the “ zone refuge », where you have to wait for the firefighters or wait until the end of the alert.
Cannes schoolchildren were trained in the right actions to adopt in the event of a tsunami alert.
© Laurent Carré / Reporterre
The communal command post coordinates operations. It is in its premises in downtown Cannes that all the images from the cameras are viewed and the evacuation map is developed. This is where the alert is triggered and messages are broadcast via loudspeakers. « On October 3, 2015, we had catastrophic floods, with deathsrecalls Yannick Ferrand. It was the shock to put this public policy in place. »
« We don't know how big the wave will be, or if it will cause major damage. »
« It has a strange effectrecognizes teacher Nathalie Battle, the professor of SVT of Louise, who experienced these alerts. The students live in a risk zone. Now they have the notion that a wave can come. It’s education for the population. » Louise, 15, is aware that it is necessary « be careful ». It makes « a little scared » to her comrade Émilie: « We do not know how big the wave will be, nor if it will cause major damage. » « It’s bad reflexes that are dangerous. We can't imagine big waves breaking everything »said Cassiano. Before minimizing: « But that doesn't scare me. At worst, I swim. »
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