The key facts
- At least four dead and one injured in France due to flooding from Storm Adam
- In Mouries and Saint-Martin-de-Crau, dozens of residents placed in emergency shelters; roads and railways disrupted
- The storm earlier killed three people in Spain; 23.5 million euros in aid allocated
Deaths and destruction in southern France
Storm Adam caused widespread flooding in southern France on Tuesday, flooding streets and disrupting transport links. According to BBC News, at least four people died and one more was injured. In the Bouches-du-Rhone department, two women aged 86 and 26 were found drowned; their bodies were discovered in a basement. On Corsica, according to local media reports, an off-road vehicle was swept away by a torrent of water on Tuesday: one of the people in the car escaped through a window, but another man was found dead. Authorities did not disclose details about the fourth victim.
Evacuation and the authorities' response
In the towns of Mouries and Saint-Martin-de-Crau, located between Montpellier and Marseille, dozens of residents were placed in emergency shelters after the flooding. According to officials, one person was injured in the area. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said on X that road and rail services in the region had been disrupted. 'The water rose to an unprecedented level,' said Jacques Witkowski, prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhone department, in an official statement on Wednesday. He expressed condolences to all those caught up in the disaster and added that the authorities were 'mobilised at an exceptional level' to address a range of problems.
A new storm is approaching
According to forecasts, a new storm is heading towards France — 'Austen', the name given to a recently formed Atlantic low-pressure system expected in the north-west of the country. France's weather service Meteo-France issued an orange wind warning for five western departments from Thursday evening until Friday: Cotes-d'Armor, Finistere, Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine and Manche.
The storm's aftermath in Spain
Earlier, Storm Adam had already brought severe flooding to eastern Spain, where at least three people died. Several towns on the Mediterranean coast were cut off by floodwaters, and helicopters were deployed to rescue people stranded on rooftops. During rescue operations on Monday, members of the Military Emergency Unit found the body of a woman in the town of Oliva in Valencia. Two more women were confirmed dead over the weekend: one was found on a beach in Sagunto in the Valencia region, and the other was swept away by floodwaters in Cabrera de Mar near Barcelona.
Aid for those affected
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, during a visit to the Valencia region on Tuesday, promised that the central government would allocate resources for recovery. The Valencian government on Tuesday approved a package of aid for those affected by Storm Adam worth 23.5 million euros (about 20 million pounds).
Image source, AFP via Getty Images A car lies abandoned after severe rainfall in Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts, near Marseille
Image source, AFP via Getty Images A local resident shows her house which has been flooded following severe rainfall in Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts, near Marseille
Image source, AFP via Getty Images Heavy rainfall that began on 19 October caused significant flooding in south-eastern France
