Floods washed away houses and destroyed roads and bridges surrounding the city of Nice on the French Riviera after almost a years average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours
French authorities deployed about 1,000 firefighters, four military helicopters and troops Sunday to help search for at least eight people still missing in a mountainous southeastern region after devastating floods that killed two people in neighbouring Italy. Floods washed away houses and destroyed roads and bridges surrounding the city of Nice on the French Riviera after almost a year's average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said over 100 homes were destroyed or severely damaged. Rescuers on Sunday were also providing emergency assistance, including food and water, to residents living in isolated villages. The missing people include two firefighters whose vehicle was carried away by a torrent when a road collapsed south of the village of Saint-Martin-Vesubie. Authorities fear more victims as many families couldn't reach out to relatives due to cellphone services being down.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex, who flew over the area in a helicopter, expressed "grave concern" over the toll of the flooding. About 10,500 homes were left without electricity on Sunday, French energy company Enedis said. In Italy, a firefighter was killed during a rescue operation in the mountainous northern region of Val d'Aosta. A search team also found a body in the Piedmont region's Vercelli province, where a man had been swept away by floodwaters. Italian firefighters also rescued 25 people trapped on the French side of a high mountain pass due to the flooding.
Keep scrolling to read more news
Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.
Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
