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

Abstract

Abstract. This paper reviews more than 19 691 French historical documents from 14 French archive centres. To assess data from historical documents, a method has been applied that leads to a record of 101 extreme storms with damage, including 38 coastal floods. Thus, the results show periods of increasing and decreasing storm frequency. These periods are examined. Furthermore, coastal hazards have forced societies to adapt and develop specific skills, lifestyles and coping strategies. This paper analyses some responses of past societies to these hazards. By doing so, useful ideas may be (re)discovered by today's communities in order to enable us to adapt and develop resilience. Similarly, a thorough knowledge of past meteorological hazards may allow our societies to recreate a link with territory, particularly through the (re)construction of an effective memory of these phenomena.

A Song of Neither Ice nor Fire: Temperature Extremes had No Impact on Violent Conflict Among European Societies During the 2nd Millennium CE

“…There is evidence, for instance, that the cold of the Little Ice Age was recognised as intense and anomalous by people who experienced it firsthand. The historical record contains references to water bodies freezing unexpectedly along with frequent mentions of crop failures, famines, and farms being deserted during this period (e.g., Holopainen and Helama, 2009;Alfani, 2010;Lockwood et al, 2017;Alfani and Ó Gráda, 2018;Athimon and Maanan, 2018). So, it seems safe to assume there were impacts.…”

Historic Storms Detected in a Changing Environment over Recent Centuries in the Belle Henriette Lagoon

“…In addition, the reconstruction from historical sources ended at the end of the 18th century, when instrumental data was developed and came into general usage. The historical reconstruction of marine storms and submersions in western France from the mid-14th century to the late 18th century confirmed the occurrence of 128 impacting events [46]. These 128 hazards do not represent the reality of the storm activity on the spatiotemporal framework studied, or the totality of the censuses carried out, for several reasons:…”

“…It involved the manual consultation of 19,888 manuscripts held in various archives: (i) 19,691 unpublished historical manuscripts such as narrative documents (chronicles, annals, journals, and marginal notes in parish registers) instrumental data, old maps and practice documents such as records of accounts, proceedings, repairs, and chancery; and (ii) 196 published articles. Historical archives provide qualitative data (sea state observations, descriptions of damage or societal reactions) and quantitative data (atmospheric pressure measurements, water height measurements) which must be evaluated and analysed using the historical-critical method [45,46]. The earliest marine weather hazard relatively well documented in written sources was from the winter of 1351-1352 (n.st) [47], so the reconstruction could only go back as far as the latter half of the 14th century.…”

New perspectives on historical climatology

“…Initiatives such as the PAGES Floods working group have initiated multidisciplinary analysis of historical flooding and impacts using multiple proxies from archives of nature and societies (Barriendos et al, 2019;Schulte et al, 2019). Recent years have also brought new work in past storm reconstruction (e.g., Athimon & Maanan, 2018;Diodato et al, 2021), as well as analysis of regional storms, impacts, and adaptations, such as Rohland's (2018) long-term study of hurricanes in New Orleans.…”