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    Metropolitan Department

    Charente

    France · Europe

    Charente is a metropolitan department of France, in Europe. It lies on the Eurasian Plate.

    Tectonic Plates

    Recorded Natural Hazards (Géorisques)

    It has 359 municipalities and 352,683 inhabitants. Under the seismic zoning in force since 2011, its highest seismicity is moderate (zone 3 of 5). A natural disaster has been declared 2,735 times since 1982 (one declaration per municipality and decree), mostly for floods (1,463) and drought (455). The most recent was signed on 18 January 2026. 36 municipalities have a high radon potential (category 3), home to 7% of inhabitants. 108 municipalities are covered by an approved natural hazard prevention plan.

    Seismicity Zones

    Number of municipalities in each zone of the regulatory seismic zoning (from 1, very low, to 5, high).

    2. Low206 municipalities
    3. Moderate153 municipalities

    Natural Disasters Declared Since 1982

    Floods and Mudflows1,463
    Drought (Clay Shrinkage)455
    Ground Movements372
    Hail222
    Storms222
    Earthquakes1

    Declarations per five-year period.

    1982 : 1065 1065 1982 1987 : 118 118 1992 : 167 167 1992 1997 : 757 757 2002 : 174 174 2002 2007 : 182 182 2012 : 63 63 2012 2017 : 105 105 2022 : 104 104 2022

    Most Widespread Events

    • 1999Ground Movements · 25 December 1999365 municipalities
    • 1999Floods and Mudflows · 25 December 1999365 municipalities
    • 1982Floods and Mudflows · 8 December 1982365 municipalities
    • 1983Hail · 26 July 1983222 municipalities
    • 1983Floods and Mudflows · 26 July 1983222 municipalities
    • 1983Storms · 26 July 1983222 municipalities

    Most Frequently Affected Municipalities

    • 23Angoulême
    • 21La Couronne
    • 21Saint-Yrieix-sur-Charente
    • 20Fléac
    • 18Chalais
    • 18L'Isle-d'Espagnac
    • 18Linars
    • 18Soyaux

    Hazards Listed by Municipality

    Number of municipalities exposed to each natural hazard according to the departmental major risks file.

    Earthquake365
    Ground Movement58
    Wildfire50
    Flooding24

    Hazards at a specific address on Géorisques

    Sources: Natural Earth · Smithsonian GVP · NOAA NCEI · IBTrACS · GEM · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Géorisques (ministère de la Transition écologique, BRGM, IRSN), base GASPAR · INSEE