A man going
to the aid of a drowning woman in southern France watched in horror as
his wife and daughter were then swept away in their caravan as flooding
across central Europe last night claimed another five lives.
The latest area to be devastated by the worst flooding the area has experienced in decades, was Lamalou-les-Bains,
where a quiet river swelled into a raging torrent and ripped through a
camping ground and across the village, collecting and destroying
everything in its path.
The
towns mayor, Philippe Thailland, has described the heartbreaking scene,
involving a man in his 60s, clinging on to a drowning woman, only to
witness his own family being swept swept.
Resting place: A destroyed car can be seen in
the foreground, left, and another sits atop fallen trees and debris,
from floods that raged through Lamalou-les-Bains, in southern France,
where six people have so far been confirmed dead
Waist deep: A man wades through flood waters and
begins the lengthily task of trying to pump water away from his flooded
apartment in Lamalou-les-Bains
A firefighter stands next to a destroyed camper
in the town which has been split open and hangs on the edge of a bridge
next to trees that have been ripped apart
The man was
unable to save the woman, and later his wife was found dead in her
caravan, which was found stuck under a bridge. His 34-year-old daughter remains missing.
More
than 80 deaths had been confirmed before the latest casualties added to
the tally. At least 58 died in the Black Sea area over the weekend,
where thousands
of Russian tourists were caught out by flood waters that swept cars and
tents out to sea.
Thousands of British tourists are being forced
to cancel holidays amid the chaos. One of the worst-hit cities is
Prague, where more than 50,000 people, including foreign visitors, were
evacuated as the floods threaten to engulf the Czech capital.
The camping
ground in Lamalou-les-Bains was hit by floods that had
already claimed the life of an elderly woman in Aveyron, and left
another person unaccounted for.
At
the camping ground, a man and woman were found dead in separate
caravans.
The salvaged and soaking remains of a family's
belongings are placed on a fence outside their home in
Lamalou-les-Bains, as they begin the heartbreaking task of cleaning up
and seeing what property can be saved
A woman scourers her home looking for
salvageable goods; thick mud coats the floor and household furniture is
scattered around haphazardly
Three men wade through flooded streets in the town, contemplating the long clean-up task ahead of them
A man surveys the damage in Lamalou-les-Bains and the scope of the clean-up after floods claimed five lives there overnight
A firefighter walks through piles of debris in
the town; in the background the panels of a destroyed camper can be seen
and a fallen trees rests between two small walls
Rescuers said a third person was swept away by a wave more
than seven feet high and that two other bodies had been found, but they
were yet to determine if they were those of two people still reported
missing.
Lamalou-les-Bains
today remained a muddy mess. Fallen trees covered roads and upturned
vehicles were scattered about, as firemen and local residents began
pumping water out of properties and doing their best to clean up while
the weather remained steady.
The area remains under risk, forecasters have said. Storms are expected later today and will continue into the weekend.
Villager who refuses to evacuate home captures raging waters tearing through his Serbian village
Meanwhile, in Serbia a video has emerged showing just how devastating raging water can be.
The
torrent of water raged through Tekija, in eastern Serbia, absorbing and
destroying everything in its path.Trees, the wooden frames of houses
and cars became part of the wall of water.
Hundreds
of people were evacuated from their homes because of the flood danger,
but at least person is known to have died as a result. The footage was
captured by one villager who refused to leave his home.
The
flooding started in the Balkans last week with heavy rain falls in
neighbouring Croatia, before it spread to Serbia where rain swollen
rivers also swept away bridges and roads and cut off power supplies and
telephones lines.
A
total of 15 villages are in danger in the Kladovo region, near the
border with Romania, where main roads connecting the area with the rest
of Serbia have been either flooded or destroyed.
The region has only recently recovered from heavy flooding in May of this year that also claimed several lives.
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