The problems of the late implementation of the legal prevention measures for flood risk

International audienceThree main laws, 13th July 1982, 2nd February 1995 and 30th July 2003, have reformed the French legal framework and introduced special measures to prevent flood risks. Besides, completing these measures, the urban planning law have imposed since the 1987 Law that the urban planning documents have had to take into account the natural hazards to define the buildable areas. But, the late implementation of the prevention provisions and the lack of the urban planning documents concerning the natural hazards have led to a development of the urbanism in the flood prone areas. As consequences, most of the constructions are not flood proof, and many large damages are caused each time a flood occurs. We present this problematic through 8 municipalities in three departments (Aude, Gard, and Var)