Latest news with #ClaudePianetti
Times
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Times
Southern France floods: three dead in ‘vicious' storm
At least three people have died in floods caused by torrential rain and storms that battered southern France this week. The bodies of a couple in their eighties were found in the Riviera resort of Le Lavandou and another person died after being trapped in a car further north in Vidauban. The couple tried to leave their home but were swept away when floodwater suddenly surged, local officials said. The other person who died was a passenger in a car that fell into a ditch after being driven on to a flooded country road. 'A local official tried to save the two people in the car but only succeeded in rescuing the driver,' said Claude Pianetti, the mayor of Vidauban. The storms flooded streets, left
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
At least three dead as 'truly violent' rainstorms and floods ravage the French Riviera in 'natural disaster'
At least three people have died after rainstorms and floods have ravaged the French Riviera which has been labelled as a 'natural disaster'. The floods reportedly caused cars to be swept away by waters, roads and bridges destroyed which one official described as 'scenes of war' in southern F rance. An elderly couple died in the seaside town of Le Lavandou and one other person in the town of Vidauban, local authorities have confirmed. The couple's vehicle was swept away by floodwaters and the woman's body remained trapped inside the wreckage. Authorities have launched an investigation to establish the cause of death, and situation on the ground has been described as 'quite difficult'. Gil Bernardi, mayor of Le Lavandou, described 'scenes of war', 'roads torn up' and 'bridges torn down.' 'It was a really violent, vicious, incomprehensible phenomenon,' Bernardi told BFM television. 'There is nothing left, no electricity, no drinking water, no sewage treatment plant,' he added. In Vidauban, a local official pulled a driver from her vehicle but the passenger could not be saved. 'A driver and her passenger drove onto a country road that was completely submerged' and the car fell into a ditch, the mayor, Claude Pianetti, said on Facebook. The bad weather has caused homes to be flooded, damage to railways tracks and evacuation of hundreds of passengers aboard a high-speed TGV train in the middle of the night. The TGV, on its way from Toulouse to Paris late Monday, was on a track that became dislodged when the ground subsided because of the torrential rains. The train had to stop on the tracks overnight near the town of Tonneins, and the more than 500 passengers were evacuated by bus. According to the prefecture, the rescue operation involved dozens including firefighters, police and volunteers. The flooding in the south of France has also affected beaches such as this near Lavandou CATASTROPHE DANS LE VAR : Au moins 3 morts, un disparu et un blessé grave dans les inondations après les orages stationnaires. Des voitures ont été emportées par les eaux. Une partie de la commune du #Lavandou est coupée du monde. Des routes et des ponts sont détruits. "C'est du… — Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises) May 20, 2025 'We narrowly avoided a disaster, the tracks were exposed and the TGV was suspended,' the mayor of Tonneins, Dante Rinaudo, told AFP. Describing 'avalanches of water' in the town that flooded cellars and houses, he said the storms should be recognised by the government as a natural disaster. Another train travelling between Toulouse and Paris was also stranded overnight in Agen, and passengers were taken to Toulouse by bus on Tuesday morning. A spokesperson for the state rail operator SNCF said traffic would be suspended for 'at least several days' between Agen and Marmande in southwestern France, affecting TGV services between Bordeaux and Toulouse.
