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A major flood · 2023

Floods, Charente-Maritime and Charente, December 2023

Charente-MaritimeCharente
In blue, the communes declared for this flood: this blue is not the water. In white, the flooded area observed by Copernicus EMS over the mapped sectors. In coral, the Natura 2000 sites and those under regulatory protection, in bright coral their part within that area. Hover over a département to read its name. Map: Animalert, from GASPAR (Géorisques), Copernicus EMS (© European Union) and IGN ADMIN EXPRESS

  • 10,998 hectares of flooded area observed by Copernicus EMS over the mapped sectors

  • 8,973 hectares in Natura 2000 or under regulatory protection

    82% of the observed flooded area

  • 247 protected animal species recorded within reach in the ten years before the flood

  • 18 animal species threatened on the national Red List, protected or not

    birds: by their population in the flood's season
Communes declared
62
Dates per the orders
6 to 24 December 2023
Départements
Charente-Maritime and Charente
Flood type
river flooding, runoff or mudflow
Heaviest rainfall
38.8 mm
in one day (Charente, 11 December 2023), LOUZAC ST ANDRE station · per Météo-France
  1. 6 December 2023: 0.2 mm
  2. 7 December 2023: 13.3 mm
  3. 8 December 2023: 3.4 mm
  4. 9 December 2023: 21.5 mm
  5. 10 December 2023: 26.5 mm
  6. 11 December 2023: 38.8 mm
  7. 12 December 2023: 7.4 mm
  8. 13 December 2023: 5.4 mm
  9. 14 December 2023: 0.6 mm

86.8 mm from 9 to 11 Dec, up to the wettest day

The flood's dates

Peak discharge
588 m³/s
La Charente à Saintes - Pont-Palissy, on 17 December 2023 · provisional Hub'Eau value, it can be revised
Extent
flooded area observed by Copernicus EMS over the mapped sectors
10,998 ha

Protected species recorded within reach

Observations recorded in the ten years before the flood, some known only to within a few kilometres, up to 10 km, when their published position is blurred or given by grid square. They tell which species were reported there, not what became of each animal.

  • 1,193 species recorded within reach

  • 247 protected animal species among them and 11 protected plants

  • 18 animal species threatened on the national Red List, protected or not (vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered)

  • 185 Birds

  • 30 Mammals, bats included

  • 12 Amphibians

  • 9 Insects

  • 7 Reptiles

  • 4 Fish, molluscs and crayfish

For birds, the category is the one of their population at the flood's season (breeding, wintering or passage birds): a bird with no dated record within reach in that season in the GBIF data has none, and the breeding category needs at least two dated records in June or July. In the migration season (March, August to October), a bird that neither the passage list nor the wintering list assesses takes its breeding category only if it was recorded at least twice within reach in June or July. The list used is named under each species.

The most notable protected animal species

Species with at least three observations (for a bird, three in the months that give it its category, and no bird without a record at the flood's season), the most threatened first, then the most recorded. An observation is a published record: it can count one or several animals, and the same animal can be noted several times. When their published position is imprecise, blurred or given by grid square, they are said to be "within reach or nearby".

Fish, molluscs and crayfish

For fish, national protection (order of 8 December 1988) covers their eggs and spawning grounds: several are fished legally.

Birds

The observations cover every season: a migrant bird recorded there may have been away on the day of the flood.

Mammals, bats included

  • Minioptère de SchreibersVulnerableSchreiber's bat

    Miniopterus schreibersii19 observations within reach or nearby

  • Pipistrelle communeCommon Pipistrelle

    Pipistrellus pipistrellusRed List: near threatened
    18 observations within reach or nearby

  • Noctule de LeislerLesser noctule

    Nyctalus leisleriRed List: near threatened
    9 observations within reach or nearby

  • Murin de BechsteinBechstein's Bat

    Myotis bechsteiniiRed List: near threatened
    7 observations within reach or nearby

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC0, public domain). Credit for each photo

In the water's path

Establishments registered today within reach of the flood, at their declared address or at the point Géorisques gives. They were not necessarily there on the day of the flood, and the dataset does not say whether they were flooded. An ICPE-classified farm can also be in the SIRENE register: these counts do not add up.

  • No ICPE-classified livestock farm located within the flood's reach

    Géorisques · ICPE

  • 3 livestock businesses in the SIRENE register based within the flood's reach

    SIRENE register · Insee

  • No veterinary practice based within the flood's reach

    SIRENE register · Insee

  • No animal protection association based within the flood's reach

    National register of associations

  • No wildlife association based within the flood's reach

    National register of associations

Of the 3 livestock businesses in the SIRENE register: 1 cattle, sheep, goat or pig farm, 1 horse farm and 1 farm of other animals.

A wildlife association is an association whose declared purpose in the national register of associations is the preservation of wildlife: the register does not say whether it runs an authorised care centre. Associations are counted at their declared address: an association or a care centre based outside the area can work across all of it.

Protected areas within reach

Area of each site within reach of the flood, and the share of the site it represents. Natura 2000 and regulatory protection first, then the ZNIEFF.

A marsh can be designated twice under Natura 2000, for its habitats and for its birds: when both sites carry the same name, or have the same extent and almost the same area here, they share one row. Natura 2000 areas overlap and do not add up. A ZNIEFF is a wildlife inventory, with no regulatory protection.

The declared communes

62 communes declared a natural disaster (flood) for this flood, département by département.

Charente-MaritimeSee the 39 communes

Belluire, Berneuil, Brives-sur-Charente, Burie, Cercoux, Champagnolles, Chaniers, Chérac, Clion, Courcoury, Dompierre-sur-Charente, Fontaines-d'Ozillac, Fontcouverte, Jonzac, La Chapelle-des-Pots, La Tremblade, Le Chay, Le Gua, Le Seure, Les Gonds, Montils, Mosnac, Pons, Pont-l'Abbé-d'Arnoult, Rouffiac, Saint-Bris-des-Bois, Saint-Césaire, Saint-Georges-des-Coteaux, Saint-Germain-de-Lusignan, Saint-Germain-du-Seudre, Saint-Sauvant, Saint-Sever-de-Saintonge, Saint-Simon-de-Bordes, Saint-Vaize, Sainte-Gemme, Saintes, Salignac-sur-Charente, Saujon, Taillebourg

CharenteSee the 23 communes

Angoulême, Balzac, Bourg-Charente, Boutiers-Saint-Trojan, Champmillon, Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, Cognac, Gond-Pontouvre, Graves-Saint-Amant, Jarnac, La Boixe, La Rochefoucauld-en-Angoumois, Linars, Mainxe-Gondeville, Merpins, Mosnac-Saint-Simeux, Moulins-sur-Tardoire, Rivières, Saint-Brice, Saint-Fort-sur-le-Né, Saint-Laurent-de-Cognac, Saint-Même-les-Carrières, Touvre

Download this flood's data

In every file of the dataset, this flood carries the identifier EV-20231206-20231224-17.

Download the datasetdata.gouv.fr

Recognised and listed