Latest news: French Macron offers solidarity to flood victims

PARIS – Latest news on Sudden Floods in South West France (local time):

6:15 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron has extended the "solidarity" of the French nation to the inhabitants of the Sud-Ouest region hit by sudden floods and the families of those who died as a result of the disaster.

After meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Paris on Monday, Mr. Macron said he was grateful for the "exemplary" response from the emergency staff.

The French leader is expected to visit Aude in the coming days to see the damage and meet the people affected by the floods. The date of his trip was not fixed.

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17:30.

According to the French Ministry of the Interior, the record of sudden floods that hit southwestern Aude has been reduced to 10.

French authorities initially announced Monday that at least 13 people had died after heavy rains caused by overnight floods. The ministry said it revised the figure later in the day after realizing that some victims had been counted twice.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who visited the flooded areas on Monday, confirmed that 10 people had been killed.

The night storms dumped the equivalent of several months of rain in a matter of hours, causing the worst floods in the region for over a century.

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15:30.

One official said French President Emmanuel Macron would travel to south-west France "as soon as possible" to meet people affected by the floods that left 13 dead.

A French Presidency official said that a date for the trip to Aude has not yet been set because Macron does not want to disrupt the emergency response work. The official requested anonymity because he was not allowed to speak in public.

The official also said that the planned reshuffle of government ministers would not be announced Monday since the government was focused on the floods.

The night storms of the Mediterranean have spilled the equivalent of several months of rain in a few hours in the region. The most affected city is Trebes, east of the medieval city of Carcassonne, where nine people were killed.

Vigicrues, the French agency that monitors the flood risks of rivers, says that water levels are higher than ever since 1891.

– By Sylvie Corbet in Paris.

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1:25 p.m.

According to the French Ministry of the Interior, the record of sudden floods in southwestern France has almost doubled to 13 deaths.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Frédéric de Lanouvelle said Monday that another person had disappeared and five others were seriously injured after the sudden floods that devastated the cities, turning streams into torrents.

He pointed out that nine of the 13 dead were clustered in one town, Trebes, in Aude. The official said the death toll could rise further.

Some people had to be heliported from the roof of their house to shelter while storms overnight had spilled several months of rain in just a few hours.

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12:45

Sudden floods have hit cities in southwestern France, turning streams into torrents that authorities say killed at least seven people and seriously injured five others. Some people had to be heliported from the roof of their house to shelter while storms overnight had spilled several months of rain in just a few hours.

Authorities said four deaths were concentrated around the town of Villegailhenc, in Aude, where a powerful wave of muddy water and debris ripped through a bridge.

While nighttime rains from the Mediterranean began to dissipate on Monday morning, the French Interior Ministry said the toll of seven dead and five seriously wounded could increase.

In Villegailhenc, Ines Siguet said the waters were rising so fast that people were stranded on the roofs of their homes and needed to be heli- lled for safety. She posted a video of the torn road where the bridge was, the city now being cut in half.

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