South of France areas hit by storms declared natural disaster zones

Dozens of communes in southern France have been decreed as having been subject to catastrophes naturelles (natural disasters) after September storms caused widespread damage.

The southern department of Hérault was placed on red alert overnight on September 16 for heavy rain and flooding by Météo France as a powerful storm swept across the area, with other departments nearby facing similar warnings.

Now, 16 communes hit hardest by the storm within the department have been decreed as having been subject to natural disasters, allowing compensation claims relating to damages caused by the storm to be made for properties there, including second homes.

Communes from other departments in the south including Ardèche, Gers, Lot, and Lot-et-Garonne were also concerned, alongside others.

Assessed in the days following the storm and put forward by decree on September 25, the list of communes was published in the Journal Officiel on Wednesday (October 4).

It means those seeking to make a compensation claim to their insurance company relating to damages from the storm can do so. They have 30 days following publication of the list to do so.

Sixteen communes from Hérault listed

The sixteen communes in the Hérault published in the Journal Officiel are: Avène, Bédarieux, Lauroux, Causse-de-la-Selle, Ceilhes-et-Rocozels, Joncels, La Tour-sur-Orb, Le Bousquet-d'Orb, Les Rives, Les Plans, Lunas, Romiguières, Roqueredonde, Saint-Martin-de-Londres, Saint-Privat and Viols-en-Laval.

A full list of communes listed yesterday from all departments can be found on the Journal Officiel’s website.

It follows previous decrees earlier in the year listing hundreds of French communes in relation to damages caused by 2022’s drought.

Read more: More French communes listed as natural disaster zones

More departments affected in other communes could be listed in the coming weeks, as the Journal Officiel publishes regular decrees on this topic.

To make an insurance claim relating to damage caused by the September storms, homeowners in the communes above will need to prepare a portfolio showing the damage for their insurance company.

You can read more about how to do this in our article below.

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