FLOODS ROAR THROUGH FRENCH, ITALIAN VILLAGES

BREIL -SUR-ROYA, France

The grim job of searching for flood victims in Alpine villages and on the nearby French and Italian coasts has grown even more gruesome: Along with storm casualties, authorities say corpses from cemeteries have also been found around the Mediterranean shore, apparently swept down the mountain by violent rains.

A total of 12 deaths have been reported since the storm pounded France’s Alpes-Maritimes region and Italy’s northwestern regions of Liguria and Piedmont starting Friday — four on the French side, eight on the Italian side.

Prime Minister Jean Castex said French rescuers were still searching Tuesday for 21 people missing.

“My thoughts go to grieving families, those who are waiting to hear from their relatives or who have lost everything,” he said at the National Assembly.

Castex said more than 900 rescuers, 500 police officers and some troops were involved in the emergency operation in the mountainous region, which is home to 12,000 residents.

He added that about 700 people were staying in hotels or other accommodation sites after being evacuated from their homes.

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the area today.

Corpses unearthed from cemeteries have washed up on the Italian side, a spokeswoman for the Alpes-Maritimes regional administration told The Associated Press. She could not say how many or where they came from, and it was unclear whether the bodies were among the eight reported dead in Italy from the storm. Italian local authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.