France recognizes 184 communes as disaster zones after severe weather on October 19-20, enabling residents to claim insurance for damages.
Ordinance declares natural disaster zones
An ordinance dated October 27 and published in the Official Journal on October 29 recognizes numerous communes as being in a state of natural disaster following weather events that affected parts of France on October 19 and 20. Vaucluse communes affected
Twenty-six communes in the Vaucluse department are included, specifically Apt, Caromb, Carpentras, Caumont-sur-Durance, Cheval-Blanc, Courthézon, Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue, Lourmarin, Mazan, Ménerbes, Mérindol, Monteux, Mormoiron, Murs, Oppède, Pernes-les-Fontaines, Pertuis, Puget-sur-Durance, Puyméras, Robion, La Roque-sur-Pernes, Saint-Saturnin-lès-Avignon, Uchaux, Vacqueyras, Vedène and Visan. Other departments impacted
Other communes in the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Haute-Corse and Var have also been recognized as being in a state of natural disaster by the ordinance for the same reasons of flooding and mudslides on October 19 and 20. In total, 184 communes are concerned by this ordinance. Definition of extreme weather
The ordinance specifies that the abnormally intense nature of the phenomenon during the event is characterized by the rainfall accumulations that present a return period equal to or greater than 10 years. Deadline for damage claims
After the publication of the ordinance, affected individuals have 30 days, until November 28, to declare the damage suffered during the weather events of this period to their insurance companies.
