Storm Adam floods kill at least four in France and three in eastern Spain
Storm Adam triggered widespread flooding across southern France on Tuesday, inundating streets and disrupting transport. At least four people have died in France and one person was injured, according to BBC News.
Two women, aged 86 and 26, were found drowned in a cellar in the Bouches-du-Rhône region, the department (an administrative region) around Marseille. France 3 Régions reported that they were a grandmother and her granddaughter, found in the cellar of their house in Lançon-de-Provence.
Other deaths were reported elsewhere. A 75-year-old man was found dead in Istres, also in Bouches-du-Rhône, on 20 October after being swept away by floodwaters, according to Euronews. In Corsica, a 4x4 vehicle was swept away by floodwaters on Tuesday. One occupant escaped through a window, and another man was found dead.
Jacques Witkowski, the state's representative (prefect) in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, said in a statement on Wednesday that water had risen to unprecedented levels. Dozens of residents of Mouriès and Saint-Martin-de-Crau, two towns between Montpellier and Marseille, were taken in at emergency shelters. Connexion reported that 200mm of rain fell overnight in southern France during the storms.
Transport was badly affected. Philippe Tabarot, France's Transport Minister, said in a post on X that roads and train lines in the affected area were disrupted.
Spain was also hit. Storm Adam brought severe flooding to eastern Spain, where at least three people were killed. Members of Spain's Military Emergencies Unit found the body of a woman in Oliva, in the Valencia region, during rescue operations on Monday. The body of another woman washed up on a beach in Sagunto, also in the Valencia region, and a woman was swept away by floodwaters in Cabrera de Mar, near Barcelona.
On Tuesday, during a visit to the Valencia region, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promised resources from the national government for reconstruction. The same day, the Valencian regional government approved an aid package of €23.5m (£20m) for those affected by the storm.
Attention is now turning to a second system. Storm Austen, moving in from the Atlantic, was expected to reach north-west France. Météo-France, the French national weather service, has issued an orange-level wind warning, the second of its warning colours, for five western departments: Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine and Manche. The warning runs from Thursday evening into Friday.
