Sea swimmer drowns as violent storms hit southern France
Another swimmer died later in the evening. Several people in south-west evacuated from homes
Floods also hit several villages in the south of France, as can be seen in the inset photo
Murrr Photo/Shutterstock/Météo Pyrénées / X
Two people drowned whilst swimming in the same stretch of the Mediterranean this weekend, after heavy storms hit the south of France.
The swimmers, both in their sixties, drowned in separate incidents near Cap d’Agde (Hérault) on Saturday (September 7).
The first victim was swimming in the sea at Rochelongue beach during the height of the storms and was caught in choppy waters.
A second swimmer drowned later that evening in the same stretch of sea. It is unclear however whether this was a direct result of the storm or for other reasons.
Seven others were rescued from the same area over the weekend.
Read more: Why are so many more sea swimmers getting into trouble in France?
Extensive damage
Other departments in the west and south also saw heavy rain and damage, including a home which caught fire after a lightning strike in the Véndée department.
It took 18 firefighters from two nearby stations to prevent the fire from spreading.
Read more: Photo: 50-metre hole cuts road in two after violent storms in south-west France
Flooding and heavy damage was also recorded in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department.
The grotto in Lourdes, a popular pilgrimage destination, was completely flooded as levels at nearby waterways rose.
Some villages were flooded as over 200 mm of rain fell in around a day, and hundreds of homes were left without electricity for much of the weekend before power was returned on Sunday.
In the Aspe valley, storms caused heavy damage to properties, and nine people were evacuated from the area by helicopter as a precaution, before the storms arrived.
Local authorities said other homeowners who were not evacuated had ample supplies and drinking water, as the area was temporarily cut off due to weather conditions.
Roads to the most remote areas of the valley are expected to be blocked for many days, and the RN134 towards Spain “will be closed for several months,” the local authorities said.
Despite this, however, no injuries were recorded in the department due to the storms.
Landslides also hit parts of the department due to the rainfall.
