Clay soils and natural disasters

The phenomenon of the removal and inflating of clay soils (called “RGA”) consists of a succession of movements of clay soils, due to variations in their water content. Known in France for more than thirty years, the harmful consequences it causes on the habitat give rise to compensation for the damage, integrated since 1989 into the natural disaster regime — known as “Cat Nat”. This phenomenon has recently received increased attention from the public authorities, due to the increasing magnitude of risk and loss, but also to the increasing dissatisfaction of the populations at risk. Before the National Assembly’s Committee for the Evaluation and Monitoring of Public Policies on the prevention and compensation of damage caused by the RGA phenomenon, the Court of Auditors conducted an inquiry taking into account the history and, above all, the more recent parliamentary and administrative work. The report published today shows that the development of the phenomenon is accompanied by an increasing call into question of its care. In the light of this situation, the Court proposes to promote preventive measures and to reconsider the compensation scheme.