Flash floods kill 10 in southwest France
October 15, 2018
At least 10 people were killed in the Aude region in the southwest of France where torrential rain turned rivers into raging torrents, resulting in uprooted trees and downed power lines, officials said on Monday.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who is also the acting interior minister, said 350 firefighters were helping the rescue effort and hundreds more would be deployed. Helicopters scrambled to rescue people from the roofs of their homes.
Ines Siguets said the waters in the village of Villegailhenc rose so quickly that people were stranded on the roofs of their homes and had to be helicoptered to safety. She posted video of a ripped-up road where a bridge used to be.
Rising rivers
Authorities closed bridges in the hilltop town of Carcassonne, where the Aude river hit its highest level in 100 years. The flash floods overturned cars, ripped up streets and battered buildings.
Nine people died in the nearby town of Trebes, where the river rose eight metres (26 feet) in just five hours, officials said. Three more fatalities were reported in the neighboring villages of Villalier and one in Villegailhenc.
An 88-year-old nun was swept from her room after floodwaters crashed through the main door of her convent in the village of Villardonnel. "It carried away her furniture which ended up on the veranda," said Sister Irene, the mother superior. The nun's body was later found outside the building.
Helene Segura, who lives in Villegailhenc, described the view from her home: "When I look out the window, I can only see water and mud everywhere. It's sad when you're 70 years old like me and you need to redo your house, change the furniture and all the upholstery," she said.
This kind of weather is not unusual in the region: it happens several times a year and almost always triggers flash flooding. However, France's weather service, Metro France, said the adverse weather had recently become more frequent and severe.
kw/rt (AP, AFP, Reuters)