At least 15 die in flash floods in south-eastern France

At least 15 people died when "unprecedented" flash-flooding hit parts of south-eastern France, submerging streets, sweeping away cars and forcing people to take refuge on the roofs of their houses. Inhabitants of Draguignan, a town between Marseille and Nice, were particularly badly affected by the sudden downpours, which began late yesterday just as people were travelling home from work and continued through the night. In the worst flooding the region saw since 1827 , authorities struggled to cope with the speed at which water levels rose. "In 24 hours, we had 350mm of water," said local official Olivier de Mazière. Today Brice Hortefeux, the interior minister, said he feared the death toll would worsen as the number of confirmed casualties continued to creep up. Four people are known to have died in Trans-en-Provence, one in Le Luc, one in Roquebrune and one in Fréjus. The worst, however, was reserved for Draguignan, where the water reached two metres in the streets and eight people died. Local official Corinne Orzechowski spoke of "a devastated town centre, extremely battered, with car wrecks in the streets, roads that have fallen in, houses ripped open, infrastructure damaged". The majority of casualties are thought to have died while trapped in their cars. "It happened at the worst moment, as people were leaving work," said Orzechowski. Because the region is a prime tourist destination at this time of year, many foreign tourists were among thousands evacuated from nearby campsites and villages. Across the area as many as 200,000 households were still without electricity today and authorities warned of disruptions to drinking water supply in the coming days.