UPDATES NUMBER OF DEATH TOLL; ADDS FURTHER DETAILS; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK
By Omer Aydin
PARIS (AA) – At least 13 people were killed in heavy rains and floods that hit Aude region in southern France, the Interior ministry said on Monday.
Five others were seriously injured while one person remains missing, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that five helicopters were being used to monitor the situation, with firefighters, gendarmes forces and soldiers mobilized for rescue and evacuation work in the region.
The first estimations showed that around 10,000 households in the region do not receive electricity, according to the statement.
Water level in a large number of houses and workplaces in the area rose above 1.5 meters, it added.
Many villages in the region were evacuated and the locals were placed into gyms and municipality buildings, while the train services between the cities of Narbonne and Carcassonne were cancelled.
Many bridges in the region were also affected by the heavy rainfalls and flood, while red alert was issued in around 20 cities.
French Prime Minister and Interim Interior Minister Edouard Philippe is expected to go to the region, the statement added.
Some schools were closed in the region, the local governor said in an earlier statement.
According to experts, the region did not face heavy rains in this measure since 1891.
