Severe flooding hits the Corbières

The worst flooding was in the lower Aude valley, but parts of the Corbières also suffered. Among many others:

The cave coopérative at Cascastel was almost entirely destroyed. A new bottling plant, installed and tested only hours before the flood, is now unusable. Huge stainless steel wine vats were swept away by the water, wreaking havoc on their way. M. J-N Bousquet, of the increasingly renowned Château Grand Moulin at Luc-sur-Orbieu also saw his high-tech installations reduced to ruins.

At Davejean, four people drowned when their car was swept off the road by a tidal wave of water.

In Lézignan and many villages in the surrounding area, houses were invaded by up to 2 metres of water and mud in a matter of minutes, and cars were swept away. Many people spent the night on roofs or clinging to trees waiting to be rescued.

Numerous bridges were swept away, and roads also suffered damage with huge slabs of tarmac being lifted off by the force of the water. Some villages were completely cut off, accessible only by helicopter.

The clean up will take many weeks. The fire brigade and army detachments have been called in to help despairing householders with the task of trying to restore some semblance of normal life; the French Red Cross and other charities have also launched an appeal for donations to help those who have lost everything.