Flash floods swamped a number of towns and villages around the fortress city of Carcassonne, leaving a trail of overturned cars, damaged roads and collapsed homes.
An elderly nun was swept to her death as rising waters smashed through a nunnery in the village of Villardonnel to the north of Carcassonne. Meanwhile,
at least four people died overnight in the hard-hit village of Villegailhenc, local authorities said Monday.
As Prime Minister Edouard Philippe headed to the scene, the French interior ministry said a total of 13 people had died after the equivalent of three months’ of rainfall in just a few hours.
Philippe tweeted (see below) that “350 firefighters are in place. 350 more firefighters are on their way. 7 helicopters have been mobilized. I am keeping myself informed of the situation hour by hour.”
“There’s water everywhere in the house. Everything is flooded,” Helene Segura told AFP by telephone from Villegailhenc where at least one small bridge had collapsed.
Photo: AFP
“When I look out the window, I can only see water and mud everywhere. It’s sad when you’re 70 years’ old like me and you need to redo your house, change the furniture and all the upholstery,” she said.
Authorities rushed in helicopters and 600 firemen to help with rescue operations, particularly those in the floodplain of the Aude river which hit its highest level in 100 years, according to the Vigicrues flood agency.
In the town of Trebes, near Carcassonne, the water in the Aude rose eight metres (26 feet) in just five hours, officials said.
In front of the house at my parents’ home …. floods in Aude #Aude #inondations #montlegun #arboretumpic.twitter.com/HGl58TJ2du
— Marion ??? (@marionf11300) October 15, 2018
Around 1,000 people were evacuated in the area of Pezens, also near Carcassonne in the Aude area, due to fears that a nearby dam could burst.
Elizabeth Dale who is in Carcassonne told The Local on Monday morning: “It’s been raining again and police are stationed on bridges and only allowing emergency vehicles to cross.
“It does like the water levels are dropping but who knows what will happen in the next few hours. There are many people like ourselves who are stuck on the wrong side of the river.”
Several roads have been closed in the area around Carcassonne, as the map below shows.
[CARTO] Nombreux axes fermés dans l’#Aude, notamment au nord et à l’est de #Carcassonne, #bouchons aux abords, ne prenez pas la route, laissez la #priorité aux #secours. (carto inforoute11) #msgu #msgu pic.twitter.com/5365HJpx5W
— traficalert+ spécial #msgu (@trafic_msgu) October 15, 2018
The storms were triggered when a front of warm and humid air from the Mediterranean Sea slammed into colder air around the Massif central mountain range in central France, inundating an area from the eastern Pyrenees to Aveyron further north.
Photo: AFP
Firemen responded to more than 250 calls overnight, as 160 to 180 mm (6 to 7 inches) of rain fell within five hours in Carcassonne.
The Aude, which has been particularly affected by the period of heavy rain in the south, was placed on red alert – the very highest warning – for rain and flooding by France’s national weather agency Meteo France on Monday afternoon.
Red alert indicates that people in the area should practice “absolute vigilance” due to the risk of “dangerous weather of an exceptional intensity”.
Meteo France