Flooding hits mountainous areas in southeast France

Flooding has devastated mountainous areas in France's southeastern region of Alpes-Maritimes and Italy's northwestern regions of Liguria and Piedmont, after a storm swept through the two countries on Friday and Saturday. In France, firefighters in the Alpes-Maritimes region were still searching Monday for at least eight people missing who witnesses described as possibly being carried off by floodwaters.

They include two firefighters whose vehicle fell into the water as the road collapsed. In addition, French rescuers are seeking to locate 12 other people whose families have not heard of them since the storm, which blocked roads and cut off communications.

French rescuers on Sunday found the body of a man whose car had been washed away by a torrent in Saint-Martin-Vesubie, one of the hardest-hit villages, where several houses and a bridge were destroyed by raging water. Authorities also found the body of a shepherd who had disappeared in the mountains between France and Italy.

A firefighter also died last week in the border region of Valle d'Aosta. The flooding has put additional stress on regions coping with the coronavirus pandemic.

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