1930: Flood of the Century
Tarn & Garonne - On the night of 3 to 4 March 1930, the Tarn-et-Garonne is engulfed by the waters of the Tarn, Aveyron and Garonne. In the space of two days, the waters of the Tarn, joined by those of the Aveyron and the Garonne, caused a disaster that ravaged all the Tarn-et-Garonne and rose up to 22 meters in some regions. To date, there never was a flurry of such a tremendous scale, both the damage and the number of casualties.
WHY?
Saturated soil, waterlogged. "The Dispatch" Toulouse says "it has fallen in four days, two times more water than in the preceding 28 days."
The soaked land, add an exceptional amount of snow fell on the mountains in the upper regions where rivers have their source. "2 meters in some places in the last days of February," says the same newspaper. However, a warm wind from the Mediterranean, blew, causing a rapid and massive melting of the thick layer of snow.