The consequences of the drought are beginning to be felt. On June 30, 2023, Le Parisien revealed the ranking of the cities most impacted by aridity. This study was conducted by the start-up namR, which specializes in data management. She thus crossed the figures of the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BGRM) and those of the National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information (IGN) to assess the risks. Check out the results in our slideshow below.

The result is final. Indeed, a large number of municipalities present a fairly high risk of residential cracks. This is the “clay swelling shrinkage” (RGA) syndrome. “The clay soil expands with the heavy rains and then contracts under the effect of the drought, creating cracks likely to lead to its collapse if its foundations are not deep enough”, specifies the daily.

“We studied the soils, their artificialization, the buildings, the vegetation, etc. to provide the most detailed mapping possible of this risk in France by focusing on the houses, whose foundations are much smaller than in collective housing” , informs Marc Stéfanon, head of climate and environmental products, at Parisian. Following this research, namR determined the departments and municipalities most at risk.

11 municipalities of the metropolitan territory present a worrying percentage. Indeed, 100% of individual houses in these cities are affected by a high risk of shrinkage-swelling of clay. Among them, the houses of the city of Auch, in the Gers, are exhibited there. In total, 5 departments would concentrate the highest percentages of houses likely to be impacted by cracks. Which ? Check them out in our slideshow below.