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With climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, the risk of flooding is on the rise. Yet material damage and casualties in the event of a flood are all the more severe when residents are poorly informed and unprepared. Indeed, vulnerability relates not only to “the exposed human presence, goods and people” (d’Ercole and Pigeon 1999, 340), but also “the way in which a society is organized and organizes a territory” (d’Ercole and Pigeon 1999, 344). This economic, social, cultural, and institutional vulnerability (Thouret 2002, 520) is exacerbated by a lack of awareness of the prevention campaigns in place. In France, to mitigate these risks, the 1987 law on the management of major risks requires municipalities with flood-prone areas to inform residents, notably through a local risk information document known as the DICRIM (Document d’information communal sur les risques majeurs). What impact have these information campaigns had in municipalities that have implemented a DICRIM? To answer this question, which forms the main focus of this study, a survey was carried out among 170 residents (50 interviews and 120 questionnaires) across three municipalities at risk of flooding. The results showed that, in the eyes of the local residents surveyed, municipal documents do not clearly convey the dangers of a sudden rise in water levels. The photographs and color schemes chosen are not interpreted as meaningful visual warning signals. The flood images featured in the documents are perceived as neutral and without real consequences—and thus fail to provoke concern. Ultimately, the many communicative shortcomings of DICRIMs raise questions about the institutional and political difficulties faced by municipalities in implementing these prevention campaigns.