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Cars swept away, neighbourhoods and homes flooded: a new bout of severe weather has lashed south-eastern France, moving from Occitanie towards Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. The heavy rain, which began on Monday, was easing in intensity by around midday on Tuesday.
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On Tuesday 20 October, a 75-year-old was found dead in Istres, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, after being swept away by floodwaters in the commune of Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts. A helicopter had been deployed in an attempt to locate the missing person.
In Haute-Corse, one person is missing in Ghisonaccia, the prefecture announced. Two people were on board a 4×4 when it was carried away by the Fium’orbu river. One managed to escape through the window, but the other is being searched for by rescue teams.
North of Solenzara (Corse-du-Sud), almost 400 millimetres of rain have been recorded since the start of the episode, “and 191 millimetres in a single hour” at the airport, Météo-France said.
In Istres, around fifty kilometres west of Marseille, evacuations also took place. Residents affected by the flooding were moved to a sports hall, local authorities said.
The heavy rainfall that began on Monday triggered major flooding from the Hérault department through to Bouches-du-Rhône and made it necessary to bring dozens of people to safety.
In Hérault, the town of Lunel was hit by intense rain and thunderstorms, according to the fire service. Around fifteen people were taken in by the municipality in a reception centre. Images on social media show cars submerged up to their windows as rising water levels filled the streets.
In Nîmes, where traffic was extremely difficult on Tuesday morning and the A9 motorway was closed for several hours, the situation was gradually returning to normal by midday and municipal facilities, shut since Monday afternoon, were reopening. Train services to and from the city were still disrupted.
Some sections of motorways around Marseille were partially flooded and slip roads were closed. In the city, tram services were suspended on Tuesday morning.
This Mediterranean weather episode is linked to a cold low-pressure system named Adam, which has brought torrential rain and flooding to Spain, where at least four people have lost their lives.
