Tuesday morning, many elected officials from Audois and Hérault met in Narbonne at the Syndicat Mixte du Delta de l’Aude to discuss the issue of the risk of marine submersion. Faced with these risks generated by climate change, the municipalities have grasped the interest of building a common strategy.
1 – A significant risk hangs over the coast
The results of a diagnosis of coastal hazards were presented this Tuesday morning in Narbonne, at the headquarters of the SMDA, the Syndicat Mixte du Delta de l’Aude. This diagnosis is the result of a study launched in 2019, which makes it possible to better understand this hazard, thanks to the models carried out. It will be presented during the first quarter of 2022.
While waiting for his conclusions, we can already take into account the diagnosis. It was carried out on the evolution of coastal hazards, coastal erosion, (the retreat of the coastline), marine submersion (the rise in sea level flooding land) and the inventory of structures and environments. natural factors that can act on these hazards. The results of the study demonstrate the impact of a 100-year storm, like storm Xyntia in 2010, which poses a significant risk on the coast from Vendres to Leucate. 10 to 50,000 people are affected, with damage of up to 600 million euros.
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2 – A regional planning strategy at the inter-municipal level
The elected officials agreed on the need to act collectively to jointly define the urban planning distribution on the territory as well as the crisis management protocols. It is a question of making evolve the existing structures, the works but also the natural environments.
3 – Raise public awareness
Many elected Audois and Hérault have agreed to deliver common information to the populations which will go through a charter. Awareness is collective, as this issue must be understood through the prism of solidarity.
“It is out of the question that each municipality informs its population individually. We have 20 years of experience in this territory on the overflows of waterways but this hazard of marine submersion is recent. Our watershed is complex, with its very different specificities between the Haute-Vallée, the Lauragais, the coast … We must have very detailed knowledge to adopt strategies “, explained the president of SMMAR (Syndicat Mixte des Milieux Aquatiques et des) Eric Ménassi, who took the opportunity to emphasize the unifying role of the union, a link between this solidarity between the municipalities.“It is a question of adapting our territory according to this risk and of educating the populations.”
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