devastating flash floods in France causes 20 deaths 12 missing

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1 Rescue workers in South Eastern France have begun the long job of going through the debris caused by the flash floods which has so far led to the death of 20 people and at least 12 missing.

1.1 Rescue workers have also expressed their concern of the death toll rising as there may be bodies found in the debris caused by the floods.

Rescue workers in South Eastern France have begun the long job of going through the debris caused by the flash floods which has so far led to the death of 20 people and at least 12 missing.

Cars swamped by waters which flood the streets of South Eastern France

Rescue workers have also expressed their concern of the death toll rising as there may be bodies found in the debris caused by the floods.

One of the worst affected areas was the popular tourist region of Provence and Var where up to 12 inches of rain fell in 10 hours causing river levels to rise to as much as 8 feet (2.5 metres).

Cars were literally on top of each other while residents in the worst effected areas were seen climbing on top of roofs and other areas away from the water.

According to the French authorities, around 2000 rescue workers have been deployed to the area to help search for survivors.

Hundreds of homes in the Var area were flooded while people were airlifted to safety from their roofs with helicopters with the French media calling the scenery that of the “apocalypse”.

The rain which started on Tuesday afternoon and went on to early Wednesday morning devastated the holiday region of France with dozens of businesses left under water.

According to authorities, many of the people who died were trapped in their cars while water started to gush in.

According to the French meteorologists, the rain fall is one of the worst in the area since 1827 and has completely surprised weather experts.

Patrick Galois of Meteo France said “We have never seen so much rain in the month of June,” to the AFP news agency.

Meanwhile Draguignan prison was also evacuated after the ground floors were completely flooded. The prisoners were reported to have been taken to higher ground.

Effects of the floods after waters began to reside

In other areas which were Affected by the floods, thousands of people were evacuated from their homes to safer ground in the Trans-en-Provence where there was four deaths.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement offering his support to the victims of the storms saying that his “first thoughts go out to the victims” and said the country felt a “solidarity with the inhabitants of the Var region, who have had to go through this very difficult natural disaster.”

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