Floods, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and 7 other départements, December 2019
13,426 hectares of flooded area observed by Copernicus EMS over the mapped sectors
9,279 hectares in Natura 2000 or under regulatory protection
69% of the observed flooded area185 protected animal species recorded within reach in the ten years before the flood
12 animal species threatened on the national Red List, protected or not
birds: by their population in the flood's season
- Communes declared
- 73
- Dates per the orders
- 9 to 16 December 2019
- Départements
- Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers and 3 other départements
- Flood type
- river flooding, runoff or mudflow
- Heaviest rainfall
- 158.5 mm
- in one day (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 12 December 2019), LARUNS-HOURAT station · per Météo-France
- 7 December 2019: 0 mm
- 8 December 2019: 14.9 mm
- 9 December 2019: 42 mm
- 10 December 2019: 0 mm
- 11 December 2019: 34 mm
- 12 December 2019: 158.5 mm
- 13 December 2019: 135.8 mm
- 14 December 2019: 0.2 mm
- 15 December 2019: 0 mm
192.5 mm from 10 to 12 Dec, up to the wettest day
The flood's dates
- Peak discharge
- 4,573 m³/s
- La Garonne à la Réole, on 16 December 2019 · provisional Hub'Eau value, it can be revised
- Extent
- flooded area observed by Copernicus EMS over the mapped sectors
- 13,426 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.
1,257 species recorded within reach
185 protected animal species among them and 12 protected plants
12 animal species threatened on the national Red List, protected or not (vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered)
126 Birds
23 Mammals, bats included
11 Amphibians
9 Reptiles
8 Insects
8 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
Amphibians
Insects
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 · ICPE3 livestock businesses in the SIRENE register based within the flood's reach
SIRENE register · InseeNo veterinary practice based within the flood's reach
SIRENE register · InseeNo animal protection association based within the flood's reach
National register of associationsNo wildlife association based within the flood's reach
National register of associations
Of the 3 livestock businesses in the SIRENE register: 1 poultry farm and 2 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. 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.
- Barthes de l'AdourNatura 2000, Habitats Directive8,127 ha within reach66.4% of the site
- Barthes de l'AdourNatura 2000, Birds Directive4,895 ha within reach31.3% of the site
- L'AdourNatura 2000, Habitats Directive456 ha within reach12.8% of the site
- Réseau hydrographique des affluents de la MidouzeNatura 2000, Habitats Directive155 ha within reach3.2% of the site
- La Bidouze (cours d'eau)Natura 2000, Habitats Directive70 ha within reach2.7% of the site
- La Joyeuse (cours d'eau)Natura 2000, Habitats Directive53 ha within reach3.7% of the site
- Tourbière de MéesNatura 2000, Habitats Directive19 ha within reach17.4% of the site
- Luy à Saugnac et CambranBiotope protection order10 ha within reach100.0% of the site
- Site des Carrières de Tercis-Les-BainsRegional nature reserve7 ha within reach14.8% of the site
- Le Gave d'Oloron (cours d'eau) et marais de Labastide-VillefrancheNatura 2000, Habitats Directive4 ha within reach0.1% of the site
- Gave de PauNatura 2000, Habitats Directive1 ha within reachunder 0.1% of the site
- L'Adour de la confluence avec la Midouze à la confluence avec la Nive, tronçon des barthesZNIEFF type II (inventoried natural area)7,849 ha within reach58.8% of the site
A marsh can be designated twice under Natura 2000, for its birds and for its habitats: the areas overlap and do not add up. A ZNIEFF is a wildlife inventory, with no regulatory protection.
The declared communes
73 communes declared a natural disaster (flood) for this flood, région by région, then département by département.
Nouvelle-AquitainePyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Gironde
Pyrénées-AtlantiquesSee the 33 communes
Arudy, Aste-Béon, Banca, Bassussarry, Bayonne, Béost, Bidache, Bielle, Bordes, Cambo-les-Bains, Eaux-Bonnes, Gère-Bélesten, Guiche, Halsou, Izeste, Lacq, Lahourcade, Laruns, Louvie-Juzon, Louvie-Soubiron, Mont, Mourenx, Orthez, Pau, Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry, Saint-Martin-d'Arrossa, Saint-Michel, Saint-Pé-de-Léren, Sames, Sévignacq-Meyracq, Urt, Ustaritz, Villefranque
LandesSee the 11 communes
Cauna, Cauneille, Hastingues, Oeyregave, Orthevielle, Peyrehorade, Port-de-Lanne, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Laurent-de-Gosse, Sainte-Marie-de-Gosse, Sorde-l'Abbaye
Lot-et-GaronneSee the 5 communes
Buzet-sur-Baïse, Colayrac-Saint-Cirq, Damazan, Saint-Hilaire-de-Lusignan, Saint-Laurent
GirondeSee the 2 communes
La Réole, Saint-Macaire
OccitanieHautes-Pyrénées, Gers, Ariège, Haute-Garonne
Hautes-PyrénéesSee the 18 communes
Andrest, Arrens-Marsous, Aucun, Bordères-sur-l'Échez, Gayan, Gazost, Hiis, Ibos, Juillan, Loubajac, Maubourguet, Orincles, Pouzac, Pujo, Sers, Sost, Tarbes, Vic-en-Bigorre
GersSee the 2 communes
Plaisance, Ponsan-Soubiran
AriègeSee the commune
Gourbit
Haute-GaronneSee the commune
Caubous
Download this flood's data
In every file of the dataset, this flood carries the identifier EV-20191213-20191215-64. 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








