At least four dead as Storm Adam causes flooding in southern France

At least four people have died and one has been injured in France after Storm Adam caused widespread flooding in the south, BBC World reported.

Streets were inundated and transport was disrupted on Tuesday. Two women, aged 86 and 26, were found drowned in a cellar in the Bouches-du-Rhône region.

Corsica was also hit by severe weather. Local media reported that floodwaters swept away a 4x4 vehicle on Tuesday. One occupant escaped through a window, while another man was found dead. Authorities have not released details about the fourth death.

Dozens of residents in Mouriès and Saint-Martin-de-Crau, between Montpellier and Marseille, were taken to emergency shelters after the floods. Officials said one person was injured in the area.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said in a post on “X” that roads and railway lines in the area had also been disrupted.

“The water has risen to unprecedented levels,” Jacques Witkowski, prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, said in a statement on Wednesday. He expressed “a thought for all those who are in distress” and said: “We are mobilised at an exceptional level to resolve several issues.”

More severe weather is forecast in France. Storm Austen, a newly named weather system moving in from the Atlantic, is expected to reach the north-west of the country.

France’s weather service, Météo-France, has issued an orange-level wind warning for five western departments from Thursday evening into Friday: Côtes-d’Armor, Finistère, Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine and Manche.

Storm Adam had also caused severe flooding in eastern Spain, where at least three people were killed. Several towns along the Mediterranean coast were cut off by floodwaters, and helicopters were sent to rescue people stranded on rooftops.

Members of the Military Emergencies Unit found a woman’s body in the town of Oliva, Valencia, during rescue operations on Monday.

Two other women were confirmed dead over the weekend. One woman’s body was washed ashore on a beach in Sagunto, in the eastern region of Valencia, while another was swept away by floodwaters in Cabrera de Mar, near Barcelona.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez promised during a visit to the Valencia region on Tuesday that the national government would provide resources to help with reconstruction.

The Valencian government approved an aid package of €23.5m (£20m) on Tuesday for people affected by Storm Adam.