Widespread flooding in northern and eastern France has led to thousands of people having to evacuate their waterlogged homes, the collapse of roads and the closure of schools and public buildings, reports The Guardian.
Record rainfall has caused rivers to break their banks, forcing the government to declare an official state of emergency in hundreds of towns and villages.
A €50m (£43m) emergency fund has been allocated to help local authorities deal with the crisis. A further €80m was being used to help farmers in the worst affected areas, the agriculture minister, Marc Fesneau, announced on Wednesday.
The national weather service Météo France said several departments remained on high alert and predicted there could be worse to come over the next 24 hours in eastern France.
The Pas-de-Calais, in northern France, was downgraded from red to orange alert on Wednesday, but about 50 roads in the department were said to have been blocked or damaged, some having fissured, moved or collapsed.