The year 2022 marks a turning point, with the doubling of dangerous storms in France. During these twelve months, Météo-France has in fact issued 32 orange or red alerts for thunderstorms on the national territory, “or twice as many as in previous years”, according to its report published on May 24. Enough to worry the populations and justify that On the front is interested in it.
Especially since everyone has dramatic episodes in mind. On August 18, violent storms hit Corsica, killing five people. The late activation of orange vigilance by Météo-France was then singled out. After an introduction to rare torrential lava flows, the presenter, Hugo Clément, sets out to uncover the failures of Météo-France. With all the more determination as the establishment refused to receive him.
To do this, the journalist enlisted the services of Loïc Spadafora, who almost drowned on September 8, 2002, under a torrent of water caused by torrential rains. Since then, he has founded InfOccitanie, an online media outlet with a large part of the program devoted to local climate forecasts. He thus voluntarily positioned himself, in a car, under a strong storm to forcefully denounce “Wow! », the too late switch to red alert. Clarification: 1.4% of departments having been affected by “significant consequences” were not placed on orange or red vigilance in 2022. A percentage of errors that is too high when it results in victims, but better than the objective set by the State: to be less than 2%.
The question of reconstruction
The cameras then go to Mont Aigoual, in the south of the Massif Central, where the Météo-France observatory has given way to the Climatographe, a climate change interpretation center intended to raise public awareness. On site, Eric Diot, former technician of the site, regrets this development, as he disapproves of Météo-France’s choice to invest in a European program of six satellites to better detect storms from the sky.
This long anti-Météo-France sequence finally gives way to project leaders. We follow in particular the agroclimatologist Serge Zaka, who installs an amateur weather station in the Camargue, and Pierre Delcour, head of a hydrometry unit of the regional department of environment, planning and housing of Hauts-de-France , which monitors the level of rivers too small to be monitored nationally.
There remains the central question of reconstruction in a flood zone, which is not prohibited, but under conditions – dam upstream, retention basins. A theme which allows, among others, Eric Daniel-Lacombe, architect commissioned by the State to rethink the Vésubie valley, ravaged by storm Alex on October 2, 2020, to present his development project. And it’s exciting. The fact remains that this subject would have deserved less vindictive and more in-depth treatment.