Heavy rainfall and swollen rivers unleashed torrents of brackish water that cut off roads, swept away cars and swamped buildings.

Heavy rainfall in parts of France caused flooding, evacuations and closed motorways and railway lines on Thursday. In Paris, a man was killed by a falling tree in the evening, as reported by the media.

Massive floods caused serious damage and power outages on Friday in parts of France's mountainous southeast region after days of heavy rain, though there were no immediate reports of any casualties. France's weather authority Meteo France placed six departments south of the city of Lyon on a red flood alert on Thursday.