Driver in Brittany dies after being swept away on flooded road
Woman was driving to work in the early morning after heavy storms
Heightened warnings were in place at the time of the incident. Photo for illustrative purposes only
Diane Edorh/Shutterstock
A woman in Brittany has died after driving her car on a flooded road and being swept away following heavy storms overnight.
The woman, 55, was driving to work at around 05:00 this morning (September 22) near Ploumagoar (Côtes-d'Armor) and drove onto a heavily flooded road.
She attempted to drive across the flooded road but “was quickly swept away with her car,” by the water, Ploumagoar mayor Yannick Echevest told FranceInfo.
She called emergency services, but rescuers “could do nothing to get her out of the water,” he added. She died in her vehicle.
At the time of the incident, the department was facing a heightened tier-three warning for heavy rain and flash flooding, which was lifted around 10:00 following improvements.
Violent storms also hit the south-east of France last night, leading to dramatic scenes in Marseille and Toulon.
Rapid flooding
Brittany was hit by heavy flooding after storms.
Emergency services in the department received more than 1,800 calls and attended 800 incidents over the course of the storms.
“We've never seen so much water fall in such a short time,” said the mayor, with the area experiencing “mudslides and a lot of other things.”
Despite the ferocity of the storms, the area is mostly back to normal.
“The flooding was rapid, but so was the receding. Most of the streets are passable,” as of late Monday morning, the mayor added.
