Summary Monitoring safety and security in nuclear installations Part 1: Review of incidents that occurred at the Blayais nuclear power plant during the storm on 27th December 1999: information on the risk of flooding of nuclear installations. Mr Claude Birraux, M.P. (2000) During the night of 27-28 December 1999, waves from the Gironde estuary washed over the dikes protecting the Blayais nuclear power plant and flooded the basements of two of the station’s fuel buildings. As a result of this incident, which was classified at level 2 on the International Nuclear Events Scale (INES), two of the four units of the Blayais nuclear power plant were shut down. Since 10 May 1990, Claude Birraux, deputy, has been tasked by the French Parliamentary Office for the evaluation of scientific and technological choices (OPECST) on an annual basis, with reviewing, amongst other things, "the reliability of the emergency arrangements provided inside and outside nuclear installations". From an analysis of this "emergency" it appeared to Mr Birraux that, quite apart from the polemics and controversies it raised, the lessons to be learned about the safety and security of civilian nuclear installations went well beyond the particular problems encountered during the storm. For example, shortcomings in the arrangements for protecting civil nuclear installations against the risk of flooding were demonstrated. Accordingly he wanted to provide an initial review as soon as possible, without waiting for the final conclusions of the experts, since a number of recommendations had to be implemented at once. This is entirely in line with the approach of the Parliamentary Office. It is a question not of contributing to a polemic but of attempting calmly to review and qualify this incident, and identify any lessons to be learned.