Key finding: ISIS Study: Health Impact of Floods in Southwestern France: Study of the health impact of the June 2013 floods in the Pyrenees

In June 2013, severe flooding struck the Pyrenees. The cause was multifactorial: heavy winter snowfall, a sudden rise in temperatures, and heavy rain, causing rapid flooding of the Gave de Pau, the Neste, the Pique, and the Garonne. The consequences were severe: 127 municipalities were declared disaster areas in the Hautes-Pyrénées (65) and Haute-Garonne (31); two people died as a direct result of the floods, and 3,000 people were displaced. Finally, in addition to these immediate consequences, it is necessary to consider other, more long-term consequences that are harder to identify. The Midi-Pyrénées Regional Health Agency (Cire), commissioned by the Regional Health Agency (ARS), decided to launch an impact study to better understand the short- and medium-term repercussions of these floods in order to optimize overall healthcare response during future events of a similar nature. To this end, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to residents of four municipalities affected to varying degrees by the floods: Luz-St-Sauveur, Barèges (65), Bagnères-de-Luchon, and St-Béat (31). The study will consist of two phases: an initial analysis, five months after the floods, aimed at gathering information on the population’s experiences and the short-term consequences on their health; and a second phase, one year later, to identify the medium-term health consequences. The initial results will be available in the first quarter of 2014.