The 2010 Var floods were the result of heavy rainfall in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

that caused severe

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

s in the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

in the evening of 15 June 2010. As well as generalized flooding, there were also

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

s. Meteorologists say the floods are the worst in the region since 1827,. with more than of rain falling in less than 24 hours.. At least 25 people were killed. The worst hit

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

were

Les Arcs Les Arcs () is a ski resort located in Savoie, France, in the Tarentaise Valley town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Initially created by Robert Blanc and Roger Godino, it is a part of the huge Paradiski system which is under ownership by Compagnie des A ...

Figanières Figanières (; oc, Figanieras) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 2,623. Figanières is located just northeast of Draguignan. See also *Communes o ...

Roquebrune-sur-Argens Roquebrune-sur-Argens (; oc, Ròcabruna d'Argenç) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region, Southeastern France. In 2019, it had ...

Trans-en-Provence Trans-en-Provence (; Provençal: ''Tranç'') is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Trans-en-Provence is famous among the ufologists as the site of an alleged UFO incident called th ...

, and the

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

Draguignan Draguignan (; oc, Draguinhan) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Ar ...

Damage

Over 1,000 people were evacuated from their houses, and 175,000 houses were left without electricity. In Draguignan, 236 inmates had to be evacuated when two floors of the prison were flooded. All 440 inmates from the prison were later transferred to other prisons in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

Grasse Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence- ...

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s were used to evacuate people from the rooftops of their houses. In Frejus, over 1,500 people were rescued by the use of inflatable boats or helicopters. Many tourists were trapped in campsites along the

Argens The Argens (; oc, Argens) is a 116 km long river of the French Riviera. Its drainage basin is fully included in the Var department.Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

announced on 18 June that a declaration of natural catastrophe would be issued "as soon as possible": it will concern the

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

Besse-sur-Issole Besse-sur-Issole (; oc, Bessa d'Issòla) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. See also *Communes of the Var department The following is a list of the 153 communes of the Var d ...

Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

Cotignac Cotignac (; oc, Cotinhac) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Climate Cotignac has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification ''Csa''). The av ...

Fayence Fayence (; oc, Faiença) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 5,735. Fayence is one of a series of "perched villages" overlooking the plain between ...

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of ...

Lorgues Lorgues (; oc, Lòrgas) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is situated 13 km south-west from the town of Draguignan. Geography Location Lorgues is situated in the ce ...

Le Luc Le Luc (; Provençal: ''Lo Luc''), also known as Le Luc-en-Provence (''Lo Luc de Provença''), is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 11,094. Le Luc is ...

and

Le Muy Le Muy (; oc, Lo Muei) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 9,288. Le Muy was one of the first places to be liberated in the Allied invasion of ...

Reactions

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Brice Hortefeux Brice Hortefeux (born 11 May 1958) is a conservative French politician. He was Minister of the Interior, Overseas Territories and Territorial collectivities. He was previously Minister for Labour, Labour Relations, the Family, Solidarity and Ur ...

stated that he expected the death toll to rise further.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

expressed his condolences to the victims' families and his support for the rescue teams. He stated that he planned to visit the area on 2010. The

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (french: Croix-Rouge française), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public u ...

launched an appeal, stating that the appeal was strictly for cash donations and not for clothing or furniture.

Deaths

A total of 25 people died: twelve people were killed in

, four in

, three at La Motte, two in

and Saint-Aygulf (in the ''commune'' of

) and one each

Montauroux Montauroux (; oc, Montauron) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Its neighbor town is the picturesque Callian which can be seen across a small valley. Geography Montauroux is ...

and at

. The floods also killed about 3000 sheep and about 100 horses, leading to problems in disposing of the carcasses, many of which had been swept into a wooded area and were trapped in trees.

Transport disruption

High Speed Train High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

travelling between

and

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

was stranded by the floodwaters near Le Luc. There were over 300 people on board. The railway between

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

and Fréjus was closed. Services were reinstated between Toulon and Les Arcs and also between Nice and Saint-Raphaël on 2010. A bus service replaced trains between Les Arcs and Saint-Raphaël. Air travel in the region was also disrupted. Toulon-Hyères Airport closed in the evening of 2010, and reopened the following morning.

References

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External links

Aerial footage of the floods

Floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

Floods in France June 2010 events in France 2010 disasters in France