Declaration of a state of natural disaster in the Alpes-Maritimes  nicerendezvous.com 19 Nov 11 An order dated 18 Nov 11, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic on 19 Nov 11, has recognised the victims of natural disasters in the Alpes-Maritimes following the flooding and mudslides that occurred from 04 - 06 Nov 11. The victims have 10 days from the publication of the order to file an estimate of their losses with their insurance companies to benefit from the compensation scheme established by law No. 82-600 of 13 July 1982. A total of 312 communes in the South East including the Var and Corsica departments have been declared areas of natural disaster. Click here to see the full list.

Analysis: Italy, Southeast France hit by heavy rains, floods  insurancejournal.com 15 Nov 11 Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has issued a report on the heavy rains, which caused widespread flooding in France and Italy during the first week of November. The storms were caused by a 'low pressure system that developed over the Mediterranean Sea and moved northwards, bringing high levels of precipitation,' AIR explained. 'The system responsible for the recent flooding in Italy and France began as an extra tropical storm named Rolf, which subsequently developed tropical characteristics over the warm waters of the Mediterranean.' AIR observed that the 'relatively warm waters of the Mediterranean can facilitate the formation of such storms, which are hurricane-like with well-defined central regions and roughly symmetrical cloud-structures. Opinion is divided as to how to classify these events since they exhibit properties of both hurricanes and polar-low systems,' sometimes called 'arctic-hurricanes.' However the storms that hit southeastern France were quite powerful with 'sustained winds of tropical storm strength and gusts up to 150 km/h at Porquerolles Island, south of Toulon. The recent event—more damaging from a flood perspective— brought rainfall in excess of 400 mm over a period of 4 days in the Var region of France.

Floods: 120 communes in the Var and Alpes-Maritimes declared disaster zones  AFP 14 Nov 11 One hundred and twenty communes in the Var and Alpes-Maritimes have been declared flood disaster zones by Interior Minister Claude Gueant whilst visiting Puget-sur-Argens, one of the worst hit areas, on Monday. 80 out of 153 communes in the Var and 40 out of 163 communes in the Alpes Maritimes were on the list. The minister, who visited an industrial zone in Puget-sur-Argens, congratulated the security forces and civil protection organisations for their work during the flooding. The Interior Minister had announced on 08 Nov 11 in the National Assembly the payment of €300,000 in extreme urgency aid to the prefect of the Var.

Storms in southern France will cost several million  lepoint.fr 10 Nov 11 The damage caused by storms that affected the Alpes-Maritimes from Saturday to Tuesday, especially in the west of the department, amount to 'several million euros', according to a first assessment by the prefecture. The Caisse Centrale de Reassurance (CCR) said Thursday in a statement that "the floods that hit southern France during the first week of November may cost between €550 to 800 million to insurers." The estimate cover the area stretching from the Atlantic Pyrenees to the Alpes-Maritimes and Corsica. Thirty-six municipalities have so far applied for recognition of a state of natural disaster, including Villeneuve-Loubet, Auribeau-sur-Siagne and La Colle-sur-Loup.

Alpes-Maritimes allocates €2.5 million for flood damage  lefigaro.fr 07 Nov 11 The General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes has decided to release aid of € 2.5 million to repair flood damage that hit several towns in the area this weekend. "We have decided on a plan to help the municipalities affected, including Pégomas, Auribeau-sur-Siagne, Villeneuve-Loubet and La Colle-sur-Loup," said its president, Eric Ciotti. Two million euros will be spent on "heavy investments, including the rebuilding of levees destroyed at Auribeau-sur-Siagne," he said. A budget of €500,000 will be allocated to municipalities and individuals in the form of emergency credit. The assistance plan must be approved by a Council meeting 18 Nov 11. "We will refine the plan after estimating the damage to businesses." Ciotti said that he has sked the Ministry of the Interior to declare a state of natural disaster.

The Riviera counts the cost of flooding  20minutes.fr 07 Nov 11 Heavy rains caused confusion throughout the department this weekend. The west of the department was worst affected. The prefecture reported more than a thousand evacuees, mainly in Pegomas, Auribeau-sur-Siagne, Antibes and Villeneuve-Loubet. Rail traffic is reduced to one lane between Nice and Cannes, and the coastal roads are shut, strewn with trash from the beach. Approximately 8,000 homes were without electricity Sunday, including 3,200 in Nice where the situation returned to normal around 16:30. Some 500 pompiers and about sixty Force 06 officers were at work this weekend to deal with emergencies. No casualties were reported in the Alpes-Maritimes. By late afternoon Sunday, about 300 residents had still not been able to return home. J. C. Magnenet & A. Selvi.

Rain, wind, flooding lash the Cote d'azur and Var  lepoint.fr 06 Nov11 Heavy rains caused the deaths of three people in the South of France including a retired couple from carbon monoxide intoxication. Two retirees aged 71 years old died overnight in Bagnols-en-Forêt from carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to evacuate water from their basement with a pump. Firefighters made about 1,200 interventions in the Var, including hoisting 30 people to safety, and 600 evacuations. Several rivers burst their banks at Brignoles and Argens. Some 600 people were evacuated on the coast and inland in the Alpes-Maritimes, near Cannes and Grasse. Many secondary roads are cut off by flooding near the Var,  Brague, Loup and Siagne rivers. Pierre Thebault.

RivieraLife.tv Cannes G20 archive

Leaders from the most powerful countries in the world congregated in Cannes 03-04 Nov 11 for the G20 summit in the midst of one of the most serious economic crisis ever. Cannes faced an almost total shut down for security reasons. The summit's goals were blown apart by the Greek Prime Ministers decision to call a referendum on his country's EU rescue package. A decision that was swiftly reversed under international pressure, causing even more indecision as Greece faced an internal political crisis. Visit our special G20 page for news & videos from this historic event.

Flash Flood Catastrophe in the Var

On Wednesday 16th June 2010, the region around Draguignan in the Var was submerged by a 2 metre wave of flood water following record rainfall of 14 inches of rain in a just a few hours. At least 25 were killed in this natural tragedy and many homes and businesses destoyed. We have collected global news reports and videos about the disaster, and RivieraLife.tv correspondent David Rowe has compiled a video of the aftermath.

Riviera snow storm wreaks havoc

Snow chaos seized the Cote d'Azur Thursday 11th Feb 10 as up to 20cm covered the region. The A8 motorway shut down, cars abandoned, 111 flights were cancelled at Nice Airport and the Cannes-Grasse rail link and penetrante road were shut down. The snowfall subsided Thursday night & the A8 motorway reopened. Intrepid RivieraLife.tv reporter Mark Dezzani ventured out onto the terrace to see what all the fuss was about!

Malpasset Dam disaster 50 years on

A new monument was unveiled in Frejus 02 Dec 09, the 50th anniversary of the Malpasset dam disaster. The monument stands by the Roman arena in Frejus and commemorates the 423 who died on that tragic night in 1959 when the dam burst. RivieraLife.tv's David Rowe reports on the commemorations and speculates about some of the reasons for this tragic disaster.