Flood exercise in Arles region

At 10 o'clock on Tuesday, October 13, teams across the Symadrem region in Arles participated in a flood preparedness exercise. The Rhône river had been under alert since the previous evening, and a level 2 flood alert was issued, prompting all employees to join the command post.

Command posts across multiple towns

Command posts were set up in the town halls of several nearby municipalities, including Fourques, Tarascon, Beaucaire, Saint-Gilles, Vauvert, Arles, Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, and the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The exercise aimed to simulate a full-scale flood response based on the 1994 flood, when the Rhône reached 10,200 cubic meters per second.

Mobilizing teams for flood monitoring

Approximately 100 people were mobilized, with Symadrem teams monitoring structures, analyzing the hydraulic situation, and coordinating the response. Municipalities also played a role, mobilizing their teams to monitor areas, report information, and organize population safety.

Ground teams inspecting dikes

On the ground, monitoring teams walked kilometers of dikes across all eight municipalities to detect any anomalies, such as water intrusions, erosion, sinkholes, cracks, or overflows. Three local construction companies were in direct contact with Symadrem to intervene quickly if necessary.

Fourques' civil security reserve

In Fourques, the exercise took place throughout Tuesday, benefiting from a civil security reserve of about sixty volunteers, described as exceptional for a commune of that size. About fifteen new reservists had recently joined the device, with the most experienced training them on the field.

Long history of river vigilance

Fourques has a long-standing vigilance regarding the Rhône. Even before the creation of the reserves, volunteers, mainly farmers, monitored the river without formal organization. Since 2005, the civil security law has allowed mayors to cover reservists and vehicles, as monitoring can be dangerous.

Reservists' monitoring procedures

The population is sensitized to the risk, and the reservists work in teams of three. One drops off the other two at the beginning of a sector and waits at the end. One trip allows monitoring on both the Rhône side and the land side. Connected by radio to Symadrem, which geolocates the reports, the reservists are heard live at the command post.

Dike monitoring and safety protocols

The Fourques dike extends over twenty kilometers, divided into sections of 2 to 3 km. The deputy mayor noted that some reservists had already done two rounds and were going for a third, with sandwiches prepared for them. The procedure is consistent: teams call the command post upon arrival at the sector and upon departure.

Alert levels and response procedures

In alert level 2, the handover between two teams should not exceed one hour to ensure the dike is never left unmonitored. In case of a "disorder," the command post warns Symadrem, which contacts the dike guard responsible for assessing the extent and need for emergency intervention.

Exercise concludes with simulated alert level 4

In alert level 3, monitoring is conducted 24 hours a day. In alert level 4, where the simulation exercise ended, teams withdraw for safety, and dike guards take over. In the afternoon, after a short break, Bernard and Bernard, retired residents of Fourques and "reservists even before the creation of the reserve," went for a third round on a 2 km section.

Real flood conditions differ from exercise

They had covered 6.5 km since morning, equipped with life vests, safety lines, and geolocated radios. One moved along the crest while the other was at the base of the dike, looking for fictitious disorders placed upstream by Symadrem. Despite the effectiveness of the monitoring teams, conditions during the exercise were not the same as a real flood. The weather was ideal, with no rain, and the two men recalled the flood of 2003, when the Rhône was very high, it was night, and strange noises were perceived. That day was not an exercise.