France declares 782 'disaster' zones
Some 782 towns and villages across France were officially recognised as ‘natural disaster’ zones on Wednesday after last week's devastating floods, The Local reports.
According to the source, once a zone is declared a natural disaster, victims can claim from a pot of funds created by all insurers. If the zone is not declared a disaster the, insurance companies are under no obligation to pay out.
The procedure means that the government will evaluate each area and deem whether it qualifies for the status of ‘natural disaster’. In the case of the 2016 flooding, the number of communes recognised was 782, across 16 départements.