This is the terrifying moment a ‘tsunami’ flood rushed through the streets of a small French village.
France’s prime minister said on Friday that firefighters and other rescuers have been involved in about 2,300 operations, some of them lifesaving, in what appears to be the biggest flooding for 40 years in central France.
Limony, a small village near the Rhone, was submerged in flood waters, captured by a local resident and shared widely online.
Michel Barnier visited French authorities’ crisis centre in Paris and said there had not been such violent rain in many people’s memory.
More than 1,000 people were evacuated. Most of them were able to go back home on Friday.
Mr Barnier also praised an alert system, used for the first time, that sent text messages urging people in the concerned areas to delay or cancel their planned trips and stay in a safe place.
French weather agency Meteo France said as much as 27 inches of rain fell in 48 hours in some local areas in the regions of Ardeche and Lozere.
The French Securite Civile is helping locals (Picture: AFP)
Helicopters have flown in to help those who couldn’t evacuate (Picture: AFP)
Several homes have been submerged (Picture: AFP)
National railway operator SNCF halted regional trains between the cities of Lyon and Saint-Etienne on Thursday saying the tracks were impassable.
Local train services will remain disrupted for several days, it said.
A main highway between the two cities also was inundated and remained closed on Friday.
Meteo France lifted its red alert for bad weather on Friday morning but still warned of potential heavy rain and floods in southwestern France.
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