Flooding in Corsica kills two after car is swept away near Porto-Vecchio

Two deaths on the Bonifacio road

Two people died overnight when floodwater swept their car off the road between Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio in southern Corsica, the prefecture announced on Friday, 6 November. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X that the vehicle was carried away during the night. A third occupant escaped and was rescued by firefighters before being flown to hospital by helicopter. A third occupant, described in one report as a 40-year-old woman, was rescued near Bonifacio and taken to hospital. Nunez also said one firefighter who went to the scene was admitted to hospital with hypothermia.

Days of heavy rain in eastern Corsica

Rain and storms have hit the south of France since Wednesday afternoon, 4 November, with the heaviest totals in eastern Corsica. Météo-France put totals at 150 to 250 mm along a band between Figari and southeast of Corte since Wednesday afternoon, locally up to 300 to 350 mm on higher ground. Station readings were 283 mm at Conca, 205 mm at La Chiappa near Porto-Vecchio and 157 mm at Figari. Other reports gave 279 mm at Conca and 204 mm at Porto-Vecchio, so the figures differ slightly by source. Porto-Vecchio set a daily rainfall record of 173 mm on Thursday, 5 November. Météo-France also recorded more than a month's worth of rain at Figari airport within 24 hours.

Conca283

La Chiappa205

Figari157

Conca

283 mm

La Chiappa

205 mm

Figari

157 mm

Data from the article text

Flooding, evacuations and rescues

In Sommières, the Vidourle river burst its banks and reached a peak height of 4.5 metres, partly submerging homes while residents waded through the water. In the French departments of Hérault and Gard, storms flooded roads and houses. In Porto-Vecchio, 120 people were evacuated and housed in a sports hall, according to AD. The Bala river rose above 5 metres at the Pont de Bala, where it normally measures 1.10 metres deep. Roads collapsed and vehicles were swept away, including near Muratellu, a hamlet that is now cut off. The Sécurité civile's Dragon 2B helicopter was deployed to winch two people trapped by rising water out of a river. The area around Solenzara, hit by a violent episode in late October that set rainfall records, received 158 mm in the latest 24 to 48 hours.

Alerts and what comes next

Météo-France's orange rain-flood alert for Corsica ran until midday on Friday, 6 November. Code orange stays in force on Friday for Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud, and the rain was weakening and not expected to intensify again. Forecasters expected the rain to move east of the Rhône and ease over Corsica during Friday afternoon. Warnings urged people not to walk onto flooded roads and strongly advised against entering cellars. Le Monde.fr reported evacuations in southern Corsica and flooding in the Montpellier area.