The recent fires in Gironde have shown that the inhabitants of risk areas do not always have the right reflexes in the event of a natural disaster.
Several professionals then call for more work, and from an early age, on the culture of risk.
If solutions already exist, especially at the local level, progress remains to be made at the national level in order to achieve the objective of an informed and educated population on the behaviors to adopt.
There is road safety education, education about the risks involved in drug use, and since the multiple terrorist attacks of 2015 and 2016, exercises to deal with the risks of attacks in French schools.
However, there is a lack of education on the risks associated with natural disasters.
"Today in our school system, there is no course where we learn from an early age to adopt the right reflexes and the behavior to be adopted", regrets the spokesperson for the National Federation of Firefighters of France , Geoffrey Casu, interviewed by franceinfo.
While they have been fighting for more than a week against flames more than 100 meters high in Gironde, the firefighters see it: the French do not have the right reflexes in the face of fires.
“Firefighters always recommend staying home when there is a fire until there is an order to evacuate.
However, the first instinct when you see smoke in the distance is to leave.
It's a bad reflex, ”explains Olivier Richefou, president of the Mayenne department and president of the National Conference of Fire and Rescue Services (CNSIS) in an interview with franceinfo.
In addition to fires, there are also floods or storms that can occur in several territories in France.
Learn to react therefore, but also to avoid the bad reflexes that can start fires.
"We need to work on risky behavior," explains Geoffrey Casu.
What already exists
Obligations incumbent on the State and the municipalities already exist.
Thus, the prefect is responsible for drawing up a departmental file on major risks (DDRM) which lists the risks to which they are exposed for each municipality in a department.
In addition, all municipalities must make a summary of the risks to which the inhabitants are subject and accompany it with prevention messages and information on how to protect themselves well, this is the municipal information document on major risks. (DCRIM).
However, "these are very technical tools, little known to the public, so we have to go beyond in order to draw the attention of the inhabitants to the risks incurred", admits Paul Guéro, risk and planning project manager at the management territorial Cerema Méditerranée, a public establishment shared between the State and the communities, interviewed by
20 Minutes
.
Because for the moment "the objective of having a population alerted to the risks has not been achieved", he abounds.
Examples to follow
Japan has become a model in the preparation for seismic and volcanic risks.
Earthquake simulation exercises are organized in schools to prepare residents for these extreme situations from an early age.
The French West Indies, which are more exposed to major natural risks such as earthquakes, cyclones or even volcanic hazards, have been committed since the 1990s to educating the population.
Prevention initiated mainly by the authorities (actions driven by the State, by local authorities, etc.) but also by citizens via associations, in particular, explains the Geoconfluence site.
Thus, in Martinique, there is an Earth Science Discovery Center (CDST) and a Major Risk Prevention Caravan.
The latter is intended to meet the needs of risk awareness both in schools and among the rest of the population.
If mainland France is less affected by this kind of disaster, for several years now violent fires, floods and storms have multiplied and intensified.
A trend that will undoubtedly continue with global warming.
And the culture of risk, defined by the French Ministry of the Environment, as "knowledge by all actors (elected officials, technicians, citizens, etc.) of natural phenomena and the apprehension of vulnerability", can still be improved. .
Put the theory into concrete practice
Locally, ideas and experiences are then implemented, such as commemorations of natural disasters to remind us that this type of event has already happened.
This is particularly the case in Nice which, since the floods of 2015, remembers every year "to perpetuate the culture of risk", explains Paul Guéro.
The testimonies of people who have been victims or of professionals who have acted during a natural disaster also make it possible to alert the inhabitants.
It is indeed the first stage of the process: to be aware that the phenomenon, whatever it is, can happen.
“It is only after that that we can transmit the messages of prevention and the means of action of the citizens”, explains the project manager.
On the other hand, the education of children is considered “indispensable” by Paul Guéro because “children are an important vector of the culture of risk”.
Sensitized at the end of school, the latter will often transmit the message to the parents.
For the moment, these are mainly local initiatives with, for example, workshops for schoolchildren.
It should be noted that there is nevertheless in the program of classes of geography, SVT and civic and moral education at the college, a theme entitled: “How to prepare and warn the population of my municipality in the event of a flood alert?
»
On the other hand, concrete exercises and prevention messages, as seen in Japan, could make it possible to concretize the theory.
Moreover "in the sectors where the school or the district have already been affected by a flood, there are already exercises which simulate the immersion of the building", specifies Paul Guéro, a little like the fire alerts activated twice a month at least.
Nationalizing this practice would be a big step forward to have an alert and educated population on the issue of natural risks.
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