Floods southern France: Three dead as fatal floods hit popular European country after severe thunderstorms - which areas are affected?

According to reports, flooding hit the Var region of southeastern France. Two of those who died were an elderly couple who were in their car as it was swept away by floodwaters in the seaside town of Le Lavandou, France 24 reported.

Meanwhile, the gendarmerie said around 2.30pm local time (1:30pm UK time) that a person had been found drowned in their vehicle in the commune of Vidauban. Le Lavandou and the commune of Bormes-les-Mimosas were particularly hard hit by the storms.

Gil Bernardi, mayor of Le Lavandou, said during a press conference: "The roads, the bridges, the paving stones, there is no more electricity, water, or wastewater treatment plant. The shock is significant because the phenomenon is truly violent and incomprehensible. As we speak, an entire part of the commune is inaccessible."

Power and water outages were also reported in the town of Cavaliere where 250mm of rain fell in the space of one hour. A parking lot collapsed in the town, and dozens of people were rescued, according to the authorities.

Around 200 firefighters and 35 gendarmes have reportedly been responding to the floods in Var. Meteo-France had recorded cumulative rainfall exceeding 10cm as of 10am local time.

Hundreds of passengers aboard a high-speed TGV train were forced to evacuate in the middle of the night. The TGV, on its way from Toulouse to Paris late Monday (19 May), was on a track that became dislodged when the ground subsided because of the torrential rain. The train had to stop on the tracks overnight near the town of Tonneins, and the more than 500 passengers were evacuated by bus.