Man swept away by floods in Nice: Storm Charles batters Riviera

Storm Charles is causing major disruption across south-east France this afternoon, with flooding reported in several areas.

A search and rescue operation involving divers is underway near Nice’s Palais des Expositions for a man swept away by floodwater in the Paillon river.

Firefighters travelling alongside the Paillon river spotted the man being swept away at around 14:25, according to media outlet RTL. It remains unclear how he entered the water.

Several roads have also been closed because of flooding across the Alpes-Maritimes department. 

This includes Mandelieu-la-Napoule, where several central roads are all impacted by flooding, as well as the town centre. A school has also been evacuated. 

In La Turbie, a landslide caused by the rain has damaged 22 homes, and in Grasse the roof of a four-storey building has collapsed, media outlet France Ici reports.

Readings at 14:00 showed 134mm of rain in Cannes, 130mm in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, and 114mm in Antibes – all of which have seen more rain since. 

Firefighters have received several callouts, including rescuing a woman in Mandelieu-la-Napoule from her car after it was swept up in floodwater.

Social media posts below show the flooding this afternoon across the area.

Despite the heavy downpours, the only heightened weather alert implemented is in Corsica for river flooding, and elsewhere only tier-two yellow alerts are in place.