Body of girl, 4, found after storms in south of France

The body of a 4-year old girl has been found by authorities in the Gard today (March 12), after she disappeared with her older brother and father during France's violent storms at the weekend.

A search was launched for the man and his two children, aged 4 and 12, after their car was swept away by river currents on Saturday night near Dions.

The search continued into Monday (March 11), and an empty car was found further downstream, that authorities believe belonged to the family.

The body of a man was also discovered in the Gardon river which flows through Dions, which authorities confirmed earlier today was that of the missing father. No trace of the 12-year old child has been found.

The search for a power plant worker that has been missing in Ardèche since Saturday evening is also continuing.

Added to the four deaths recorded in the Gard, an 87-year old in the Hérault, and an 80-year old fisherman in Charente-Maritime were also killed.

It means the death toll from last weekend’s weather now stands at 6.

Weather warnings are still in place today (March 12) in five departments for river flooding: Yonne, Puy-de-Dôme, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Charente-Maritime, and Gironde.

Searches continue in south

The search for the missing boy will resume this morning.

The body retrieved on Monday evening in the river is likely the parent of the children according to French media, although the prefecture has not yet confirmed this.

In addition, the search in Ardèche for a 70-year old hydro-plant worker will also continue. He was announced missing on Saturday evening by his colleagues after not turning up to work at a smaller local power station in the department.

His car and wallet were discovered on Sunday, close to the Eyrieux river.

Read more: Father and children missing, 6 dead: Heavy toll of storms in France

Death and drivers

If the body found in the Gard is confirmed to be the missing father, it means all five of those who died – and all those missing – in the south of France were driving or in a car during the storms.

The missing family, as well as a 62-year old Belgian who died in the Gard, were known to be swept away in their vehicles when driving over ponts submersibles – bridges with no parapets.

These allow rivers to wash over roads easier during floods, lowering the chance of water clogging up in the river and chokepoints and reducing the time for water levels to lower after heavy rain.

However, they can be dangerous, and people should not drive over them during storms. They are often officially ‘closed’ during storms with barriers or road signs, but this is not always the case.

A close friend of the missing family in Gard said the parents would “never be irresponsible” when driving with their children.

“If the barrier [to the bridge] was closed, they would never risk driving over it,” she said.

Read more: Storms in France: what to do if at home, out walking or in car

Are the storms over?

There will be some showers north of the Seine and in Normandy today, particularly in the afternoon, however in the south rainfall has ended.

You can see photos of rivers and waterways over the weekend by French news outlet Actu here.

The intensity of the weekend’s storms, however, mean many departments are still facing at least some weather warnings.

There are 44 departments on tier-two yellow warnings – mostly for high river levels – alongside the five on a heightened tier-three alert.

The heightened warnings are set to continue until at least tomorrow evening (March 13), as river levels are slow to recede.

Further rainfall at the end of the weekend along the Atlantic coastline may prolong the heightened warnings in Gironde and Charente-Maritime.

You can keep up to date with all weather warnings through the official Météo France website, and river levels via the official Vigicrues website.

Note these warnings are subject to change multiple times throughout the day, especially during periods of intense weather.

Related articles

What to do (and not do) during heavy rain and flood alerts in France

What action is advised with different Météo France weather warnings