Thousands of people slept in railway stations, airports and schools on Monday night after torrential rain drenched much of the south of France. The streets of the city of Montpellier were flooded and a kayak was spotted rowing alongside the old town, reports RFI.
About 4,000 people were stranded in the Hérault department, which was on red alert Tuesday morning, while the neighbouring Aude, Gard and Pyrénées-Orientale were on orange alert.
The government was set to declare a natural catastrophe in the Hérault, which was worst hit.
After a brief respite, the deluge was expected to start again as rain moved up the coast from Spain.
Hundreds of rail passengers spent the night sleeping in Montpellier’s railway station, some in carriages provided by the rail company, 500 people were stuck overnight in the airport, a concert hall was transformed into a dormitory and about 1,000 students had to sleep their schools and colleges.
Read more of this report from RFI.