![]() ![]() Before Carennac, the Dordogne winds its way peacefully. There’s been no particularly heavy rain in the immediate area, but both the Vézère and the Coly have a wide catchment area, and there has been considerable amounts of rain in the Massif Central. The valley here widens to accommodate the fertile flood plains that rise towards the wooded hills. ![]() Several roads in the area are blocked, the fire brigade were out, and a boat was being used to reach some of the houses and bars down by the river. This means that there is a chance of more than 20 that potentially damaging and life-threatening river floods occur in the coming 10 years. Today you’d have needed diving gear just to reach your table. In the area you have selected (Dordogne) river flood hazard is classified as medium based on modeled flood information currently available to this tool. Last summer I had lunch under the white awning, the one nearest the camera. Normally, it’s possible to walk under the arch in the centre and then stand a few metres above the level of the Vézère, but this morning both rivers were at the same level.Ī few kilometres downstream, in Montignac, it’s clear that the river is now 5 – 6 metres higher than normal. (a) Daily mean flow of the Garonne River and the Dordogne River showing the river flood events of Table 1 (b) tidal range recorded at Bordeaux tide gauge. ![]() Given the historical prevalence of floods in the basin, it is striking to find. The concrete slab where the divers kitted up and entered the water has now turned into a strong stream with a waterfall (shown below).īy the time the Coly enters the Vézère at Condat, it’s in full spate. A series of large hydro-electrical dams was built on the Dordogne River over the course of the twentieth century. It doesn’t look much higher, though you can see the surface boiling above the cave entrance, but that’s because the water cascades out of the pool in several places. This the Doux de Coly in fairly normal conditions, taken during the 2010 diving expedition from the UK, led by Rick Stanton, with a Darkness Below editor enjoying a cold swim: There isn't much point in looking at them more than a few days in advance. Best websites: for weather forecasts and warnings:. Or so I thought until a short trip out showed that all the local rivers were bursting their banks in quite spectacular fashion. Flooding is normally a short-duration effect following storms in the river catchment areas. Having seen the weather reports from Britain’s caving areas, your intrepid correspondent was quite happy to be safely ensconced in the Dordogne region, with little wind, no frost & not much rain. ![]()
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