Flood related mortality in France over the period 1980-2025

Flood events are among the most widespread natural hazards in France and are responsible for significant damage each year. Although public safety remains a priority, socio-economic impact is emphasised in risk prevention. The purpose is to focus on human vulnerability, through fatality, as an index for evaluating public policies. Based on previous research focused on the French Mediterranean region (BD Vinct-In see Vinet et al., 2022; Boissier, 2013), and within the framework of the EUropean Flood Fatalities named database (Petrucci et al., 2019; Papagiannaki et al. 2022), the study, as part of the FORESEE research project, seeks to extend data collection to mainland France and Corsica over the period 1980–2025. This database enables spatial analysis and temporal distribution of fatalities related to various historical flood events that have occurred across the territory. The scope includes flash floods (in Mediterranean and mountain regions), marine flooding, river floods, urban runoff, and tsunami. It also highlights geographical dynamics of different types of flooding (catchment area characteristics, temporal patterns), while allowing comparisons between fatalities seasonality, intense pluvio-hydrological events occurrence, and the effectiveness of public policies in risk management (river monitoring, weather alert, risk awareness, etc.). Finally, it provides insights into victim profiles, circumstances and locations of death, behaviours, as well as the evolution of human vulnerability over time and space.