Human consequences
423 deaths and about 7,000 people affected. For pregnant women whose partner died, the state revives and adapts posthumous marriage.
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FloodMalpasset Dam failure
423Deaths
7,000Displaced / homeless
Not quantifiedEstimated cost
- Official toll: 423 deaths, including many children caught in their sleep.
Five years after its completion, the Malpasset arch dam, swollen by torrential rain, gives way in the evening. Some fifty million cubic metres of water rush down the Reyran valley and devastate Fréjus all the way to the sea.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
A strip nearly a kilometre wide is swept away: farms, roads, railways and buildings are carried off.
Economic consequences
With no party held liable, the builders’ insurers pay no compensation: the state, the département and public generosity cover the damage.
Political consequences
The courts find no fault. France creates a permanent technical committee on dams in 1966 and steps up dam monitoring nationwide.
Further reading
Similar disasters
- Storm XynthiaFlood · France2010
- Vajont disasterFlood · Italy1963
- Great Flood of ParisFlood · France1910
- Vargas tragedyFlood · Venezuela1999
In the rankings : The worst disasters in France No. 5The deadliest floods No. 7
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