[ Video Courtesy of NTDTV ]
Exceptionally heavy rains came as a surprise to southeastern France causing flash floods and landslides resulting in 19 deaths as of Wednesday night. Seven people are still missing.
The normal amount of rainfall in the region for a five-month period, 30 centimeter [11.8 in], fell within just 12 hours. The storm passed over southern France on Tuesday night. The storm had not been forecasted by French meteorologists.
In the most heavily hit city, Draguignan, 31 miles west of Cannes, cars and trucks were floating, streets and buildings were destroyed, and water levels reached as high as 6.5 feet in some streets, deputy prefect of Draguignan, Corinne Orzechowski, said according to AFP.
According to local reports, trains stopped, the Toulon-Hyères Airport was closed and 200,000 people have been left without electricity. Approximately 1,850 rescue workers have been mobilized to the mountainous region behind the Riviera. At least 1,200 people, including tourists evacuated from campgrounds, have been transferred to shelters.
The normal amount of rainfall in the region for a five-month period, 30 centimeter [11.8 in], fell within just 12 hours. The storm passed over southern France on Tuesday night. The storm had not been forecasted by French meteorologists.
In the most heavily hit city, Draguignan, 31 miles west of Cannes, cars and trucks were floating, streets and buildings were destroyed, and water levels reached as high as 6.5 feet in some streets, deputy prefect of Draguignan, Corinne Orzechowski, said according to AFP.
According to local reports, trains stopped, the Toulon-Hyères Airport was closed and 200,000 people have been left without electricity. Approximately 1,850 rescue workers have been mobilized to the mountainous region behind the Riviera. At least 1,200 people, including tourists evacuated from campgrounds, have been transferred to shelters.
