At least three people, including an elderly couple in their eighties, have died after violent thunderstorms and torrential rains struck southeastern France on Tuesday, unleashing flash floods and leaving behind widespread devastation that officials likened to war zones.
In the coastal town of Le Lavandou in the Var department, the couple was killed when their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters.
Authorities reported that the woman’s body remained trapped in the wreckage of the submerged car, while an investigation into the cause of death has been launched.
“The situation was quite difficult on the ground,” said Toulon public prosecutor Samuel Finielz, confirming that an inquiry is underway. Le Lavandou Mayor Gil Bernardi painted a grim picture of the aftermath, describing “scenes of war” with “roads torn up” and “bridges torn down.”
In an interview with BFM television, he called the storm “a really violent, vicious, incomprehensible phenomenon,” adding, “There is nothing left—no electricity, no drinking water, no sewage treatment plant.”
In a separate incident in the town of Vidauban, another person died when a vehicle was engulfed by rising waters.
The mayor of Vidauban, Claude Pianetti, said the driver and her passenger had mistakenly driven onto a flooded country road, causing the car to plunge into a ditch. A local official managed to rescue the driver, but the passenger could not be saved.
While the southeast reeled from the floods, southwestern France was also hit hard by similar weather on Monday night. Torrential rain and hail caused severe disruption, flooding homes and damaging railway lines.
One high-speed TGV train carrying over 500 passengers from Toulouse to Paris was halted near the town of Tonneins after the ground beneath the tracks subsided due to the rains.
According to local officials, the tracks were dangerously exposed, and the train was left suspended overnight. “We narrowly avoided a disaster,” Tonneins Mayor Dante Rinaudo told AFP, calling the deluge an “avalanche of water” that overwhelmed the town’s infrastructure.
Cellars and houses were submerged, and he called on the government to officially recognize the storm’s impact as a natural disaster.
A major rescue operation was launched involving dozens of emergency personnel, including firefighters, police, and local volunteers, to evacuate the stranded passengers by bus.
Another train traveling from Toulouse to Paris was also forced to stop in Agen, with passengers later transported to Toulouse by bus on Tuesday morning.
France’s national rail operator SNCF said that service between Agen and Marmande will be suspended for at least several days, affecting TGV traffic between Bordeaux and Toulouse.
As emergency services continue cleanup and recovery efforts across the storm-hit regions, officials are warning residents to remain vigilant, with the risk of further severe weather lingering in parts of southern France.
The government is expected to assess damages in the coming days and may issue a natural disaster declaration to expedite support and compensation.
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