Vulnerability, resilience and adaptation of societies during major extreme storms during the Little Ice Age

Abstract

Abstract. This manuscript reviews more than 19 691 French historical documents from 14 French archive centers. The results show that 101 extremes storms were recorded including 38 coastal floods. Coastal hazards have forced societies to adapt and develop some specific skills, lifestyles and coping strategies. By analysing the responses of past societies to these hazards, useful ideas may be (re)discovered by today's communities in order to enhance the ability to adapt and develop resilience. Similarly, a thorough knowledge of past climate hazards may allow our societies to recreate a link with territory, particularly through the (re)construction of an effective memory of these phenomena.