Photos: Heavy rain causes severe flooding in south of France

Intense storms, accompanied by hail, battered the south of France at the weekend leading to widespread flooding with many roads left inaccessible.

Efforts are ongoing to find a 74-year old man who is missing after he went to move his car, parked near a waterway in Ardèche, on Sunday (November 16) morning.

The man, who lives in a former mill next to a river, was concerned by the rapidly rising water close to his home near Saint-Vincent-de-Barrès. 

“He wanted to move his car and prevent it from being swept away but the car apparently went, and he probably tripped,” said mayor of the commune Paul Savatier.

Witnesses report seeing his 4X4 vehicle floating down the stream by the mill and the empty vehicle was found later on Sunday.

The video below shows the strength of the currents around the commune, which is surrounded by several smaller streams that flow into the Lavezon, and eventually Rhône, rivers.

A team of around 100 rescuers were looking for the man on Sunday, scouring the area until nightfall, but were unable to find any trace of him. Searches are resuming today.

Flooding in several areas

Rains and hail battered areas from the Rhône Valley down to the Riviera, bringing up to 200mm of rain to some areas in the Cévennes.

Heavy rains caused similar conditions in the Drôme department, with village roads flooded from sudden downpours.

Elsewhere in the Ardèche village of Pouzin, a dog training club showed surrounding fields completely flooded.

Further south towards the Alpes-Maritimes, on-and-off storms were in place across the weekend, beginning with a violent hailstorm that covered Nice. 

Lasting until Sunday evening, intermittent but extremely violent rains hit several areas.

As of Monday (November 17), all heightened warnings have been lifted by state forecaster Météo France, and no rivers are facing severe flooding alerts. 

Further rains are likely to hit central areas at the end of the week.