France Weather: Red Alert as Flash Floods Kill 13 in South-West*

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At least 13 people have been killed by flash floods in the Aude region of south-western France. Local authorities say several months' worth of rain fell in just a few hours overnight, leaving roads blocked in some areas.

Separately, a policeman attending to a weather-related traffic accident in the town of Albi was himself hit and killed by a motorist. Alain Thirion, the prefect of Aude, said people were stranded on rooftops and would have to be evacuated by air because it was too dangerous by boat.

One person was injured, he added when a house collapsed in the locality of Cuxac. The floods are the worst the Aude river has seen in more than 100 years, according to the weather monitoring service Vigicrues.

The heavy rain in the region is not uncommon at this time of year, but it has been exacerbated by growing numbers of homes being built on floodplains. Residents of the worst-hit areas have been urged to stay inside their homes by emergency services and local authorities, who have issued a red alert.