A mayor in south-west France has urged drivers not to ignore ‘road closed’ signs after two people were swept away trying to ford a flooded river.
The south-western Pyrénées-Orientales département has seen very heavy rain in the days after Christmas, leading to road closures and usually fordable rivers becoming impassable.
The warning from local mayor Jean-Charles Moriconi comes after two motorists were swept away and died in separate incidents around the village of Pollestres, not far from Perpignan. On Christmas Day and December 26th, national forecaster Météo France recorded between 70 and 100mm of rain, with peaks of 120/130 mm between the Albères mountains and Perpignan.
Elsewhere two people had to be pulled from their cars by the fire brigade in separate incidents in the neighbouring Hérault. Another driver was able to make her way to safety after her car became stuck in a usually fordable river.
Roads and ford crossing points across the Pyrénées-Orientales were closed by the préfecture because of the flood waters – but numerous drivers ignored the safety messages.
“There are still many reckless drivers who ignore the road closure signs,” mayor of Pollestres Jean-Charles Moriconi told Le Parisien. “They are putting themselves in serious danger.”
He said he and his staff have been out, trying to convince motorists not to use one of the five fords in the area, which are still closed to traffic because of floods.