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Floods in France leave 15 dead, 12 missing

16 June 2010 21:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Fifteen people were killed and another 12 missing after flash floods hit southeastern France, turning city streets into meters-high (feet-high) brown rivers that swept away cars, trees and parts of houses, the government of the Var region said Wednesday, APA reports quoting â€œAssociated Pressâ€.
Nearly a dozen helicopters worked all night Tuesday to evacuate people trapped by the floodwaters, which reached about 2 meters (6.5 feet) high in some areas. About 1,200 people spent the night in shelters and tens of thousands were still without electricity or phone service on Wednesday afternoon, the Var government said.
Meteo France meteorological service has forecast more rain for the region overnight Wednesday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent condolences to residents and thanked emergency personnel.
In a statement, Sarkozy said his "first thoughts go out to the victims" and underscored his "solidarity with the inhabitants of the Var region who have had to go through this very difficult natural disaster."
French television broadcast images of walls of muddy brown water slamming over walls and coursing through city streets. The flood left cars stacked on one another and ripped the siding off houses.
The city of Draguignan, which is located about halfway between Marseille and Monaco, was hit particularly hard, with eight of the deaths registered there. In Draguignan, the floodwaters reached 2 meters (6.5 feet) high.
Residents of the city worked Wednesday to clear the mud and water from houses and businesses and the streets of rubble.