Two missing as floods hit southern France
Two people were missing and hundreds of homes flooded Saturday as heavy rains hit the Cote d'Azur in southern France, disrupting air and rail transport and leading to hundreds of evacuations.
CLICK HERE for an update on the floods as death toll rises to four
One of the missing was a 77-year-old man.
Near Muy, in the Car area, a woman was also missing after a lifeboat capsized with three crew members and three other people aboard. While five of them reached safety she could not be found.
??? Situation très compliquée pour les habitants de la petite ville Le Muy dans le #Var. Un canot de sauvetage des #pompiers s'est retourné, tous ses occupants sont tombés dans l'eau. Les dégâts étaient déjà colossaux à 17h. #intemperies #VigilanceRouge pic.twitter.com/ta1epoDl47
— La Plume Libre (@LPLdirect) November 23, 2019
Two other people were rushed to hospital as storms hit the area overnight.
The two districts affected, Alpes-Maritimes and Var, were placed on "red alert" warnings by the meteorological office and official warnings were also issued about high waves off the coast.
Inondation, soyez prudents
Intervention des pompiers#Cannes #AlpesMaritimes #paca #antibes #nice #biot #mandelieu #var #frejus #alerte #meteo #Pluie #PluieInondation #METEO83 #meteo06 pic.twitter.com/M0SHwNqXRX
— Cannes citoyen (@cannescivisme) November 23, 2019
A total of 1,600 members of the emergency services were mobilised to deal with the emergency.
Numerous roads were cut off and rail traffic was halted from the Cote d'Azur to the Italian border until at least Sunday.
[ Intempéries ]
Voulu par @davidlisnard, le sytème d’alerte par haut-parleurs mis en place par la @villecannes trouve toute son utilité et sa pertinence lors des circonstances exceptionnelles comme la #VigilanceRouge #Inondation que connaissent les #AlpesMaritimes aujourd’hui. https://t.co/NFakemc2up
— Thomas Onzon (@Thomas_ONZON) November 23, 2019
Flights from Nice international airport were suspended during the day and due to resume late Saturday.
In Nice itself, alert sirens sounded to urge people to stay indoors. Most residents complied and the streets were almost deserted by late afternoon on Saturday.
Four thousand homes were left without electricity due to the bad weather and flooding.
Mauvais temps en France – Deux personnes disparues après une inondation sur la Côte d'Azur – Actualités https://t.co/5oZ3iuKodc pic.twitter.com/QTDk0n99EA
— FR24 News française (@FR24NewsFR) November 24, 2019
In several towns, including Hyeres and Frejus, hundreds of residents were evacuated as a preventative measure. Shelter was provided in municipal buildings.
A 39-year-old woman was seriously injured after being carried along by a wave, according to firefighters.
A 78-year-old man was also hospitalised with hypothermia after being trapped by a tree trunk brought down by a landslide.
The French authorities warned late Saturday that with more heavy rain on the way and rivers in the area already overflowing their banks that the flooding will continue to worsen".
⚠️ Notre département est en vigilance rouge pluie-inondation !
La préfecture des Alpes-Maritimes vous appelle à éviter les déplacements.
Quelques photos de la Roya à 17h. pic.twitter.com/ZKNB8uJvIg
— Laurence Boetti-Forestier (@LaurenceBoetti) November 23, 2019
They urged local residents to stay indoors, be careful near water courses and not to use their vehicles unless strictly necessary.
Other regions of southern France, including Gard and Haute-Loire, were put on orange weather warnings.
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CLICK HERE for an update on the floods as death toll rises to four
??? Situation très compliquée pour les habitants de la petite ville Le Muy dans le #Var. Un canot de sauvetage des #pompiers s'est retourné, tous ses occupants sont tombés dans l'eau. Les dégâts étaient déjà colossaux à 17h. #intemperies #VigilanceRouge pic.twitter.com/ta1epoDl47
— La Plume Libre (@LPLdirect) November 23, 2019
Inondation, soyez prudents
— Cannes citoyen (@cannescivisme) November 23, 2019
Intervention des pompiers#Cannes #AlpesMaritimes #paca #antibes #nice #biot #mandelieu #var #frejus #alerte #meteo #Pluie #PluieInondation #METEO83 #meteo06 pic.twitter.com/M0SHwNqXRX
[ Intempéries ]
— Thomas Onzon (@Thomas_ONZON) November 23, 2019
Voulu par @davidlisnard, le sytème d’alerte par haut-parleurs mis en place par la @villecannes trouve toute son utilité et sa pertinence lors des circonstances exceptionnelles comme la #VigilanceRouge #Inondation que connaissent les #AlpesMaritimes aujourd’hui. https://t.co/NFakemc2up
Mauvais temps en France – Deux personnes disparues après une inondation sur la Côte d'Azur – Actualités https://t.co/5oZ3iuKodc pic.twitter.com/QTDk0n99EA
— FR24 News française (@FR24NewsFR) November 24, 2019
⚠️ Notre département est en vigilance rouge pluie-inondation !
— Laurence Boetti-Forestier (@LaurenceBoetti) November 23, 2019
La préfecture des Alpes-Maritimes vous appelle à éviter les déplacements.
Quelques photos de la Roya à 17h. pic.twitter.com/ZKNB8uJvIg
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