At least four dead after storm brings flooding to southern France

At least four people have died in France, and one other has been injured, after flooding caused by Storm Adam.

The storm triggered widespread flooding across southern France on Tuesday, inundating streets and disrupting transport.

The deaths included two women aged 86 and 26 who were found drowned in a cellar in the Bouches-du-Rhône region.

Corsica was also hit by severe weather. Local media reported that a 4x4 vehicle was swept away by floodwaters on Tuesday - one of the occupants escaped through a window, but another man was found dead. Authorities have not released further details about the fourth death.

In the towns of Mouriès and Saint-Martin-de-Crau, between Montpellier and Marseille, dozens of residents were accommodated in emergency shelters after the floods hit. Officials said one person had been injured in that area.

Roads and train lines ‌in ⁠the area were also disrupted, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot wrote in a post ​on X.

"The water has risen to unprecedented levels," Jacques Witkowski, prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Witkowski expressed "a thought for all those who are in distress", adding: "We are mobilised at an exceptional level to resolve several issues."

More severe weather is forecast in France, with Storm Austen - a newly named weather system moving in from the Atlantic - expected to reach the country's north-west.

France's weather service, Météo-France, has issued an orange-level wind warning for five western departments from Thursday evening into Friday.

The alert covers Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine and Manche.

Storm Adam had already brought severe flooding to eastern Spain, where at least three people were killed.

Several towns along the Mediterranean coast were cut off by floodwaters, while helicopters were deployed to rescue people stranded on rooftops.

Members of the Military Emergencies Unit found the body of a woman in the town of Oliva, Valencia, during rescue operations on Monday.

Two other women were confirmed dead over ⁠the weekend. One woman's body was washed up on a beach in Sagunto, in the eastern region of Valencia, and another was swept away by floodwaters in Cabrera de Mar, near Barcelona.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez made a promise that the national government would provide resources to help in reconstruction during a visit to the Valencia region on Tuesday.

The Valencian government approved on Tuesday an aid package of €23.5m (£20m) for those affected by Storm Adam.