Flash Floods Kill at Least 10 in Southwestern France

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A bridge over the Trapel River collapsed on Monday in Villegailhenc, in southern France, amid flash floods.CreditCreditEric Cabanis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By Aurelien Breeden

Oct. 15, 2018

PARIS — Muddy rivers and streams swollen by torrential rains tore through southwestern France on Monday, swamping towns, cutting off roads and killing at least 10 people, according to French officials.

Firefighters helped evacuate a family in Trèbes.CreditPascal Pavani/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Most of the flooding occurred in the Aude region, named after the river that runs through the area, after several months’ worth of rain fell within hours overnight — nearly 14 inches in some places, according to the Interior Ministry.

In Trèbes, near the city of Carcassonne, the official agency that tracks flooding nationwide described the rise in the water level, over 20 feet, as “exceptional,” nearly reaching a previous record from 1891. At least six people were killed there, according to the Interior Ministry.

Four other people were killed in nearby towns, including a nun who was swept away by the rising waters in Villardonnel, north of Carcassonne. In Villegailhenc, video posted by witnesses on social media showed river waters rushing through a gap where a bridge had crumbled and been carried away.

The episode was similar to flash floods last week on the Spanish island of Majorca, where 12 people died, and Frédéric de Lanouvelle, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said that the casualty count in Aude “unfortunately probably isn’t definitive.” One person was also reported missing, and five others were seriously wounded, he said.

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Damaged houses in Villegailhenc.CreditGuillaume Horcajuelo/EPA, via Shutterstock

“There are many homes that are flooded, many people who might be isolated,” Mr. de Lanouvelle told the BFM TV news channel.

The local authorities, warning that more flooding was expected in the coming hours, urged residents to stay inside and to avoid traveling. Over 10,000 homes in the Aude and neighboring Hérault area lost power, many schools were closed and public transportation ground to a halt.

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Residents were urged to stay inside and avoid traveling.CreditGuillaume Horcajuelo/EPA, via Shutterstock

Drone and helicopter video broadcast on French television showed flooded fields, houses surrounded by murky brown water, and cars overturned or abandoned on inundated roads.

Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, who is also the acting Interior minister, arrived in the area on Monday afternoon. The Élysée presidential palace said that a cabinet reshuffle that has been in the works for over a week would not be announced on Monday, and that President Emmanuel Macron would also head to the Aude region “as soon as possible.”

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Homes lost power, schools were closed and public transportation ground to a halt as a result of the floods.CreditEric Cabanis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Hundreds of firefighters, emergency workers and police officers were deployed across the area, sometimes using helicopters to lift residents off the roofs of their flooded homes. In the village of Pezens, about 1,000 residents were evacuated because of the risk that a nearby dam would overflow.

Flash flooding in the region is not uncommon in the fall, when warm air masses from the south cross over the Mediterranean and encounter the cooler southwestern tip of the Massif Central mountains, creating an instability that can lead to exceptional rainfall and violent thunderstorms.

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