Floods, Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, November 2023
59 communes under a natural disaster declaration (flood)
297 protected animal species recorded in the declared communes in the ten years before the flood
39 animal species threatened on the national Red List, protected or not
birds: by their population in the flood's season
- Dates per the orders
- 30 November to 3 December 2023
- Départements
- Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
- Flood type
- river flooding, runoff or mudflow
- Heaviest rainfall
- 128.5 mm
- in one day (Hautes-Alpes, 30 November 2023), CHAMPOLEON station · per Météo-France
- 25 November 2023: 0 mm
- 26 November 2023: 0 mm
- 27 November 2023: 14.6 mm
- 28 November 2023: 0.4 mm
- 29 November 2023: 40.6 mm
- 30 November 2023: 128.5 mm
- 1 December 2023: 91 mm
- 2 December 2023: 0 mm
- 3 December 2023: 0 mm
169.5 mm from 28 to 30 Nov, up to the wettest day
The flood's dates
- Peak discharge
- 492 m³/s
- La Durance à Embrun, La Clapière, on 1 December 2023 · provisional Hub'Eau value, it can be revised
- Extent
- communes under a natural disaster declaration (flood)
Protected species recorded in the declared communes
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.
7,824 species recorded in the declared communes
297 protected animal species among them and 68 protected plants
39 animal species threatened on the national Red List, protected or not (vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered)
204 Birds
38 Mammals, bats included
22 Insects
17 Reptiles
10 Amphibians
6 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 in the declared communes 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 in the declared communes 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 "in the communes or nearby".
Birds
The observations cover every season: a migrant bird recorded there may have been away on the day of the flood.
Mammals, bats included
Amphibians
Fish, molluscs and crayfish
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 in the communes declared for this flood, taken whole, 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.
1 ICPE-classified livestock farm located in the declared communes
Géorisques · ICPE405 livestock businesses in the SIRENE register based in the declared communes
SIRENE register · Insee17 veterinary practices based in the declared communes
SIRENE register · Insee15 animal protection associations based in the declared communes
National register of associations1 wildlife association based in the declared communes
National register of associations
Of the 405 livestock businesses in the SIRENE register: 289 cattle, sheep, goat or pig farms, 18 horse farms, 3 poultry farms and 95 farms 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.
Protected areas in the declared communes
The sites the communes declared for this flood extend over, taken whole, dry sectors included. Natura 2000 and regulatory protection first, then the ZNIEFF, each by its area in these communes. These are not flooded areas: they are not given.
- Rochebrune - Izoard - Vallée de la CerveyretteNatura 2000, Habitats Directive
- EcrinsNational park core
- Les EcrinsNatura 2000, Birds Directive
- ClaréeNatura 2000, Habitats Directive
- Steppique Durancien et QueyrassinNatura 2000, Habitats Directive
- Le MercantourNatura 2000, Habitats and Birds Directives
- MercantourNational park core
- Haut Guil - Mont Viso - Val PreveyreNatura 2000, Habitats Directive
- Dormillouse - LavercqNatura 2000, Habitats Directive
- Vallon des Bans - Vallée du FournelNatura 2000, Habitats Directive
- Combeynot - Lautaret - EcrinsNatura 2000, Habitats Directive
- Bois de Morgon - Forêt de Boscodon - BragousseNatura 2000, Habitats Directive
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
59 communes declared a natural disaster (flood) for this flood, département by département.
Hautes-AlpesSee the 45 communes
Aiguilles, Arvieux, Baratier, Briançon, Buissard, Ceillac, Cervières, Champcella, Champoléon, Château-Ville-Vieille, Châteauroux-les-Alpes, Crots, Embrun, Eygliers, Forest-Saint-Julien, Freissinières, Guillestre, L'Argentière-la-Bessée, La Roche-de-Rame, La Salle-les-Alpes, Le Monêtier-les-Bains, Les Orres, Molines-en-Queyras, Mont-Dauphin, Névache, Orcières, Puy-Saint-André, Puy-Saint-Eusèbe, Puy-Saint-Pierre, Puy-Saint-Vincent, Réallon, Réotier, Risoul, Saint-André-d'Embrun, Saint-Chaffrey, Saint-Clément-sur-Durance, Saint-Crépin, Saint-Jean-Saint-Nicolas, Saint-Julien-en-Champsaur, Saint-Martin-de-Queyrières, Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Véran, Savines-le-Lac, Vars, Villar-Saint-Pancrace
Alpes-de-Haute-ProvenceSee the 14 communes
Allos, Barcelonnette, Beauvezer, Colmars, Enchastrayes, Faucon-de-Barcelonnette, La Condamine-Châtelard, La Mure-Argens, Le Lauzet-Ubaye, Méolans-Revel, Saint-André-les-Alpes, Ubaye-Serre-Ponçon, Uvernet-Fours, Val d'Oronaye
Download this flood's data
In every file of the dataset, this flood carries the identifier EV-20231201-20231203-05. Its dates were frozen when the identifier was created and differ here from the flood's.
Recognised and listed

A project labelled by the French StateNational Resilience Day 2026 (Journée nationale de la résilience)
Registered with GBIFDerived dataset, DOI 10.15468/dd.ta4vkx











