2 killed, 9 missing as rain hits France, Italy

PARIS/ROME: Two people died and nine people were missing in France and Italy after a storm hit border regions of the two countries, bringing record rainfall in places and causing heavy flooding that swept away roads and damaged homes, authorities said on Saturday.

The storm, dubbed Alex, ravaged several villages around the city of Nice on the French Riviera. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi called it the worst flooding disaster in the area for more than a century after flying over the worst-hit area by helicopter. “The roads and about 100 houses were swept away or partially destroyed,” he told French news channel.

“I have been particularly shocked by what I saw on Saturday,” French Prime Minister Jean Castex told a news conference after visiting affected areas, adding he was concerned that the death toll could rise. At least eight people were missing in France, authorities said. These included two firemen whose vehicle was carried away by a swollen river, according to local witnesses cited by several

French media. Television images from both countries showed several roads and bridges had been swept away by flood water and numerous rivers were reported to have burst their banks.

In Italy, at least two people died -- one a fireman hit by a falling tree and another a man in his 30s whose car was swept into a river after a road subsided, local authorities said. As night fell, one Italian was still unaccounted for while a further 16 people earlier feared missing, including a group of six German trekkers, had all been found safe. Officials in the Piedmont region reported a record 630 mm (24.8 inches) of rain in just 24 hours in Sambughetto, close to the border with Switzerland.

Television images from both countries showed several roads and bridges had been swept away by flood water