Deadly floods wipe out villages in France, kills Nun
AT LEAST 11 people died when violent
rainstorms turned rivers into raging torrents in southwest France on
Monday, prompting some of the deadliest flooding in years, officials
said.
The equivalent of three months
of rain was dumped overnight in the region of Carcassonne in just a few
hours, sending rivers over their banks, including the Aude, which
reached levels not seen in 100 years.
Local authorities said 11 people were killed, a second reduction in the official toll which had earlier stood at 13, a figure given by the interior ministry.
Two people were still missing with eight others seriously injured, authorities added.
Of the victims, six died in Trebes - which made headlines earlier this year after a jihadist attacker killed four people in a shooting spree, including a police officer who took the place of a hostage.
Two elderly residents died in Villegailhenc, where the main bridge collapsed, and one person was killed in Villalier.
On Monday evening the body of another victim was found in Carcassonne.
One of the overnight victims was an 88-year-old nun who was swept from her room by floodwaters at the Burning Bush priory in the village of Villardonnel, north of the fortress city of Carcassonne.
Elsewhere, flash floods overturned cars, gutted streets and battered buildings and bridges, especially to the north of Carcassonne where authorities ordered bridges closed.
With many roads impassable, helicopters were used in the rescue operations.
Around 1000 people were evacuated from the area of Pezens, also near Carcassonne, amid fears that a nearby dam could burst, and thousands of homes throughout the area were without electricity after strong winds brought down power lines.
The
storms were triggered when a front of warm and humid air from the
Mediterranean Sea slammed into colder air around the Massif Central
mountain range, inundating an area from the eastern Pyrenees to Aveyron
further north.
This well-known weather pattern occurs three to six times a year in the region and nearly always triggers flash flooding.
But
the French weather forecasting service, Meteo France, suggested these
episodes had recently become more frequent and more severe.
President Emmanuel Macron, whose office said he will soon visit the affected areas, offered “the sympathy and solidarity of the entire nation for the victims of the Aude flooding and their families.”
The rescue operations appear to have delayed an expected announcement on a government reshuffle, triggered by the sudden resignation of interior minister Gerard Collomb nearly two weeks ago.
Prime
Minister Edouard Philippe, who is acting as interim interior minister,
said the government would ask insurers to process disaster claims and
payments “as quickly as possible” while he assessed the damage in the
region.
An unrelated storm on Sunday also hit Portugal, leaving 28 people with minor injuries and hundreds of thousands without power amid flooding in the region around the capital Lisbon.
The heavy rains, which later rolled on through Spain, were the tail end of Hurricane Leslie in the Atlantic, which weakened to a post-tropical storm as it made landfall.
Local authorities said 11 people were killed, a second reduction in the official toll which had earlier stood at 13, a figure given by the interior ministry.
Two people were still missing with eight others seriously injured, authorities added.
Of the victims, six died in Trebes - which made headlines earlier this year after a jihadist attacker killed four people in a shooting spree, including a police officer who took the place of a hostage.
Two elderly residents died in Villegailhenc, where the main bridge collapsed, and one person was killed in Villalier.
 |
| An aerial view shows a damaged car in a flooded field in the city of Villegailhenc, near Carcassonne, southern France. Picture: AFPSource:AFP |
One of the overnight victims was an 88-year-old nun who was swept from her room by floodwaters at the Burning Bush priory in the village of Villardonnel, north of the fortress city of Carcassonne.
Elsewhere, flash floods overturned cars, gutted streets and battered buildings and bridges, especially to the north of Carcassonne where authorities ordered bridges closed.
 |
| An aerial view shows a flooded Peugeot car maker garage in the city of Villegailhenc, near Carcassonne, southern France. Picture: AFPSource:AFP |
Around 1000 people were evacuated from the area of Pezens, also near Carcassonne, amid fears that a nearby dam could burst, and thousands of homes throughout the area were without electricity after strong winds brought down power lines.
This well-known weather pattern occurs three to six times a year in the region and nearly always triggers flash flooding.
 |
| An aerial view shows a flooded road in the city of Villegailhenc, near Carcassonne, southern France. Picture: AFPSource:AFP |
President Emmanuel Macron, whose office said he will soon visit the affected areas, offered “the sympathy and solidarity of the entire nation for the victims of the Aude flooding and their families.”
The rescue operations appear to have delayed an expected announcement on a government reshuffle, triggered by the sudden resignation of interior minister Gerard Collomb nearly two weeks ago.
 |
| An aerial view shows a collapsed bridge in the city of Villegailhenc, near Carcassonne, southern France. Picture: AFPSource:AFP |
An unrelated storm on Sunday also hit Portugal, leaving 28 people with minor injuries and hundreds of thousands without power amid flooding in the region around the capital Lisbon.
The heavy rains, which later rolled on through Spain, were the tail end of Hurricane Leslie in the Atlantic, which weakened to a post-tropical storm as it made landfall.
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