Overseas Department
French Guiana
France · Europe
French Guiana is an overseas department of France, in Europe. It lies on the South American Plate.
Tectonic Plates
Recorded Natural Hazards (Géorisques)
It has 22 municipalities and 293,996 inhabitants. Under the seismic zoning in force since 2011, its highest seismicity is very low (zone 1 of 5). A natural disaster has been declared 39 times since 1982 (one declaration per municipality and decree), mostly for floods (36). The most recent was signed on 22 September 2024. 19 municipalities have a high radon potential (category 3), home to 57% of inhabitants. 10 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).
Natural Disasters Declared Since 1982
Declarations per five-year period.
Most Widespread Events
- 2022Floods and Mudflows · 1 March 202214 municipalities
Most Frequently Affected Municipalities
- 8Remire-Montjoly
- 6Cayenne
- 5Matoury
- 4Roura
- 2Macouria
- 2Grand-Santi
- 2Apatou
- 2Papaichton
Hazards Listed by Municipality
Number of municipalities exposed to each natural hazard according to the departmental major risks file.
Sources: Natural Earth · Smithsonian GVP · NOAA NCEI · IBTrACS · GEM · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Géorisques (ministère de la Transition écologique, BRGM, IRSN), base GASPAR · INSEE