AnimalertBack to Flood & FaunaFlood & FaunaDownload the data
A major flood · 2026

Floods, Gironde and 11 other départements, February 2026

In February 2026, the water covered the marais de Brouage and the marais de Rochefort, in the Charente-Maritime. Straddling the Charente and the Charente-Maritime, it also covered 3,299 hectares of the vallée de la Charente moyenne et des Seugnes, nearly half of this Natura 2000 site. These marshes are partly under water every winter, and this seasonal water may still be counted in the flooded area. On the sectors mapped by Copernicus EMS from 12 to 14 February, 28,755 hectares, 50% of the observed flooded area, are in Natura 2000 or under regulatory protection. 296 protected animal species had been recorded in this zone over the previous ten years, 218 of them birds recorded in all seasons: no other observed flooded area in the dataset counts as many. Among them are the Eurasian otter and the European pond turtle. In the zone or nearby are also the European mink, a small river carnivore recorded in the Charente-Maritime, and the giant freshwater pearl mussel, both critically endangered on the national Red List.

GirondeLot-et-GaronneDordogneCharenteCharente-MaritimeTarn-et-GaronneAveyronHaute-GaronneVienneGersLotTarn
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

  • 58,042 hectares of flooded area observed by Copernicus EMS over the mapped sectors

  • 28,755 hectares in Natura 2000 or under regulatory protection

    50% of the observed flooded area

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

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

    birds: by their population in the flood's season
Communes declared
607
Dates per the orders
9 to 24 February 2026
Départements
Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, Charente, Charente-Maritime and 7 other départements
Flood type
river flooding, runoff or mudflow
Heaviest rainfall
68.7 mm
in one day (Haute-Garonne, 15 February 2026), Boutx le Mourtis station · per Météo-France
  1. 10 February 2026: no reading
  2. 11 February 2026: 68.7 mm
  3. 12 February 2026: no reading
  4. 13 February 2026: 52.4 mm
  5. 14 February 2026: 35.1 mm
  6. 15 February 2026: 68.7 mm
  7. 16 February 2026: 40 mm
  8. 17 February 2026: no reading
  9. 18 February 2026: 8.9 mm

156.2 mm from 13 to 15 Feb, up to the wettest day

The flood's dates

Peak discharge
6,330 m³/s
La Garonne à Marmande, on 14 February 2026 · provisional Hub'Eau value, it can be revised
Extent
flooded area observed by Copernicus EMS over the mapped sectors
58,042 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.

  • 2,209 species recorded within reach

  • 296 protected animal species among them and 15 protected plants

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

  • 218 Birds

  • 32 Mammals, bats included

  • 13 Amphibians

  • 12 Reptiles

  • 12 Fish, molluscs and crayfish

  • 9 Insects

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, and other protected species recorded within reach. 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".

Mammals, bats included

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.

Amphibians

Reptiles

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

  • 12 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 12 livestock businesses in the SIRENE register: 10 cattle, sheep, goat or pig farms, 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.

The Brouage, Rochefort and Seudre marshes are partly under water every winter: the Copernicus EMS map does not necessarily tell the flood's water from this seasonal water. 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.

The declared communes

607 communes declared a natural disaster (flood) for this flood, région by région, then département by département.

Download this flood's data

In every file of the dataset, this flood carries the identifier EV-20260209-20260224-33-12017.

Download the datasetdata.gouv.fr

Recognised and listed