Three people have died in floods following torrential rain in southern France.

The county's Interior Ministry has said the town of Beziers was among the hardest hit in recent days.

Dozens of people there have been forced to leave their homes after rivers broke their banks.

Cars have been swept away and streets and roads have been severely damaged and covered with mud.

Image: Heavy flooding in Gruissan, southern France

Blocks of cement were also moved by the force of the floodwaters.


The area saw more rain in 24 hours than in the whole previous year as the fierce storms lashed eight French counties along the Mediterranean Sea and inland areas.

More than 2,000 personnel from the emergency services have been deployed to deal with the aftermath of the storms.

Image: An excavator removes rubble on a road in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia

France is not the only European country affected by severe weather this week, with reports that at least two people died in northern Italy.

In Spain, police said on Wednesday that one man had died and two other people were unaccounted for following torrential rain in the northeastern region of Catalonia.

Police said they found a body of a man on a beach at Arenys de Mar, situated on the coast between Caldes d'Estrac and Canet de Marhours, after he was reported missing from a nearby town.

Image: Vehicles stuck in floods following overnight storms in Bezier, southern France

Firefighters also said they were searching for an elderly woman and her son who were staying in a prefabricated house in Vilaverd, a small town close to Barcelona.

Authorities said power cuts caused by the rainfall affected 20,000 people - and 40 roads in the region were cut off after several rivers burst their banks and flooded nearby streets.

Image: A bar in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia, is damaged following torrential rain

On Tuesday, a suspected tornado ripped through a popular tourist destination in Ibiza, leaving at least three people injured and hundreds of trees uprooted.

Sophie Kelly, who is currently on holiday there with her son Riley, said the storm struck quickly, "snapping trees in two" and causing heavy flooding.

She said: "The storm was brewing for about an hour, then it went very dark and the rain started, then the wind.

"The full force of it only lasted about four minutes maximum.

"That's why I assumed it was a tornado, plus the way the trees are snapped in a narrow strip."

Image: People watch a thunderstorm above the Mediterranean Sea in Nice

Ms Kelly, from Newquay, Cornwall, said lightning continued on Tuesday night and was followed by power cuts throughout the evening.

Peter Nixon, 56, lives in Altea on the Spanish mainland to the west of Ibiza and watched the storm rolling over the area from afar.

He said the storms are known locally as the "Goto Fria" - meaning 'cold drop' in English - and signifies a change in the weather from summer to winter.

"They always seem to hit on UK half-term week, which is a bummer for the many holidaymakers with kids," he added.

The Met Office said the storms are expected to continue this week, moving east across the Mediterranean and bringing very heavy showers, hail and thunderstorms, with up to 8in (200mm) of rain expected in some areas.