Flooding in La Berarde, France – June 2024

An alpine ‘Boscastle’?

Sep 09, 2024

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La Bérarde is a village in the French department of Isere. It is located at an altitude of 1,700 metres, in the Veneon valley and in the heart of the Ecrins massif in the Alps. It is a renowned centre for mountaineering and climbing. The village is also an entrance to the Ecrins National Park. Its name is due to the pastoral nature of the area – sheep farming – berardes are sheep breeders.

The hamlet was damaged during violent weather on Friday, June 21, 2024, with very high levels of precipitation. It was destroyed by overflowing of the Etancons, a tributary of the Veneon, effectively cutting the village off from the rest of the world. The flooding river brought down substantial quantities of eroded glacial material from higher up the valley, with devastating effect (see aerial photos). Its inhabitants were evacuated by helicopter.

It is an example of how flooding with a huge river load can destroy a community, even in summer, and in a developed part of the world.

Site of La Berarde – 1829