In the 12 by 12 meter pool, the water injected by dozens of nozzles rises 5 centimeters per minute. Little by little, the pressure raises the waterproof textile membrane which surrounds the mobile home placed on the concrete floor, preventing the flood from reaching the home.
Another device allows the mobile home to be raised above the water level using an electric lifting system. Next to it, another tarpaulin surrounding a wooden statue unfolds to protect the work. Opposite, an inflatable plastic cofferdam blocks the opening made in a low wall.
This basin is the first operational device of the flood research, testing and prevention center officially inaugurated Thursday March 21 in Baziège (Haute-Garonne). An initial investment of 220,000 euros, 45% financed by the Occitanie region.
The world’s first natural risk, flooding potentially threatens 3.5 million homes in France and some 18 to 19 million people. But, all manufacturers combined, only 1,000 protection devices are installed each year, explains Rémi Alquier, general manager of FloodFrame, the company behind the creation of the testing center: “At this rate, it would take us about a thousand years to protect everyone. »
The objective of the promoters of the new center is obviously to reduce this time, by making it possible to simulate floods to develop, test and improve protection devices. There’s still much to do : “Flooding is a bit of a poor relation to major natural risks in terms of analysis, testing and innovation,” recognizes Pierre Vaysse, director of the property and liability insurance unit of Allianz France, which financed part of the costs of the Baziège site.
Reduce the bill
The German group, which represents around 6% of the home insurance market in France, and a little more in that of business protection, hopes to make Baziège a reference center on a European scale, like those it created in Munich (Germany) for road safety and in Istanbul (Turkey) for earthquakes.
The financial stake is far from negligible: the cumulative cost of floods could reach 50 billion euros over the period 2020-2050, compared to 27.6 billion euros over the previous thirty years according to estimates from France Assureurs, the national federation of the sector.
The companies involved in the Baziège project therefore hope to convince people that they can reduce this bill, whether it is FloodFrame, FlowStop and its tailor-made cofferdams, or the Dutch MHL and its mobile lifting device. homes.
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