The exercise “could take place” in April 2025 with the aim of preparing Parisians in the event of flooding in the capital. The opportunity to remember good actions and avoid any drama, just a few days after deadly floods in Spain.
In 2025, Paris City Hall will propose to residents of the capital “a major awareness-raising operation” about the risk of flooding in the event of a flood of the Seine, as part of a “resilience” program for the city, presented this Friday November 8.
During this exercise, which “could take place in April 2025”, “all Parisians will be invited to meetings in district town halls, with internet access, to explain to them what behavior to expect from everyone in the event of flood,” Mayor Anne Hidalgo told AFP.
The authorities “are ready, with plans and regular exercises on the Seine, but I would like us to be able to raise awareness among the general population of Paris, to give them the capacity for action by informing themselves and by training,” she added.
An “in situ crisis exercise”
By explaining, for example, that in the event of flooding “you should not go down into your car park to take your car out, because that's where you are trapped”, while many underground car parks have been completely flooded at Valencia and its region in Spain, bereaved by historic floods.
An “in situ crisis exercise” simulating a flood of the Seine, in conjunction with the police headquarters, is planned, the town hall said. Parisians will also be made aware of measures to “improve the resilience of their homes”, while the municipality will carry out “experimental developments to reduce urban runoff”.
Paris' new “resilience strategy” in the face of risks (flood, pandemic, attack, cyber-attack, heatwave, etc.), which will be voted on at the next Paris Council in mid-November, aims in particular to “develop culture of risk, that is to say knowledge of local risks and the reflexes to adopt in the event of a crisis, and to strengthen local mutual aid between Parisians”, explains Pénélope Komitès, deputy mayor in charge of innovation , of attractiveness and resilience.
The plan includes 50 concrete actions, including regular crisis exercises with the population, the implementation of a “very hot” plan to protect people on the streets during heatwaves and the creation of a “resilience campus “.
