Storms in south kill three people

THREE people have died and five departments remain on orange alert overnight after storms and torrential rain hit the south of France.

A couple in the eighties were killed in Montpellier when their car was swept away by flood water. And a 71-year-old holidaymaker from the Paris region died at a campsite in the Cantal department when he was crushed by his caravan toppling over in the wind.

The Météo France alert applies to the Ardèche, Drôme, Hérault, Gard and Vaucluse and is in place until 16.00 on Monday with up to 20cm of rain in some areas.

The A75 motorway had to be closed over a 20km stretch because of the stormy weather. Montpellier recorded a record 64mm of rain in just half an hour, forcing trams and trains to be halted and a cinema to be evacuated.

Orages [EN IMAGES] à #Montpellier : rive du Lez, près d'Arènes et Père Soulas pieds dans l'eau http://t.co/QSbWyiVkje pic.twitter.com/ZdY9Y3ruhC— Midi Libre (@Midilibre) August 23, 2015

Another eight departments in western France are also on orange alert because of strong winds. They are the Loire-Atlantique, Vendée, Indre, Vienne, Deux-Sèvres, Charente-Maritime, Maine-et-Loire and Indre-et-Loire.

The rest of France is on a yellow alert with heavy rain forecast overnight on Sunday and early on Monday morning, as well as winds gusting up to 85kph north of the Loire.