FRENCH FLASH FLOODS DEATH TOLL ‘EXPECTED TO RISE’
Baku, June 17 (AZERTAC). The death toll in south-eastern France is expected to rise as rescue workers pick through the debris left by flash floods, according to the BBC.
Some 20 people have been killed and at least 12 are still missing after torrential rain hit the mountains above the Cote D`Azur region on Tuesday.
“I fear the toll will go higher,” said Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux.
Some 2,000 rescue workers have been drafted in to search for survivors through debris and flooded houses.
A number of towns in the department of Var were affected, with hundreds of homes flooded.
Rescue helicopters have been air lifting people to safety, some from the roofs of their houses.
Many of those who died were trapped in their cars as waters surged through streets in the worst hit area, around the town of Draguignan.
Water levels, which reached over 2m (6ft) in places, were said to be falling slightly in Draguignan on Wednesday, though the rain was continuing in nearby Roquebrune and Frejus.
Meteo France, the national weather service, had warned of further storms on Wednesday night.
They said up to 40cm (15.7in) of rain had fallen since Tuesday.
The floods are the worst in the region since 1827, meteorologists say.
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