French rescuers search for 8 people missing after floods
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 neighboring 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. 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.
