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THIRTEEN PEOPLE HAVE been killed in violent storms and floods in southwest France, it has been confirmed.
Flash floods swamped a number of towns and villages around the fortress city of Carcassonne, leaving a trail of overturned cars, damaged roads and collapsed homes.
An elderly nun was swept to her death as rising waters smashed through a nunnery in the village of Villardonnel to the north of Carcassonne.
Meanwhile, at least four people died overnight in the village of Villegailhenc, local authorities said on Monday.
As Prime Minister Edouard Philippe headed to the scene, the French interior ministry said a total of 13 people had died after the equivalent of three months’ of rainfall in just a few hours.
“There’s water everywhere in the house. Everything is flooded,” Helene Segura told AFP by telephone from Villegailhenc where at least one small bridge had collapsed.
“When I look out the window, I can only see water and mud everywhere.
“It’s sad when you’re 70 years’ old like me and you need to redo your house, change the furniture and all the upholstery,” she said.
Authorities rushed in helicopters and 600 firemen to help with rescue operations, particularly those in the floodplain of the Aude river which hit its highest level in 100 years, according to the Vigicrues flood agency.
In the town of Trebes, near Carcassonne, the water in the Aude rose eight metres in just five hours, officials said.
Around 1,000 people were evacuated in the area of Pezens, also near Carcassonne in the Aude area, due to fears that a nearby dam could burst.
The storms were triggered when a front of warm and humid air from the Mediterranean Sea slammed into colder air around the Massif central mountain range in central France, inundating an area from the eastern Pyrenees to Aveyron further north.
Violent storms also hit Portugal on Sunday, leaving 28 with minor injuries and hundreds of thousands without power amid flooding in the region around the capital Lisbon.
The heavy rain, which later rolled on through Spain, was the tail end of Hurricane Leslie in the Atlantic, which weakened to a post-tropical storm as it made landfall.
Last week, an unrelated weather system moving across the Mediterranean left 12 dead in the Spanish island of Majorca, while another two died in southeastern France.
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When you see them side-by-side you can better understand the wisdom of Benedict stepping down. His successor is far fresher and more energetic looking.
Very true, how are these popes supposed to make huge decisions within the church in their latter years. Good decision by Benedict.
Benedict is so frail :(
I was thinking the same thing Siobhan :(
Funny how Jesus never lived in a palace
Historic. May this be the start of something new. God bless em in their work.
Lovely to see but poor Benedict looks so frail.. :(
I totally agree Deidre and hope he breathes a breath of fresh air over the Catholic church .
I would dearly love to see Women taking more of a role and priests allowed to marry.
I really wish him every success and God speed.
Mike. Agreed. Its been a great first ten days. He looks like a man with energy and purpose who lives the Gospel.
My greatest wish would be that the youth would return to the Church. Hopefully he can inspire them
I would dearly love to see people (myself included) getting back to the church we love and need.
I had been so disillousioned but please God we get back to what our faith is about,peace,understanding and tolerance and a love of our faith.
I was happy to hear the Pope talking about creating a bond with Muslims and other faiths.
I am quite excited about this and I hope he makes the difference.
Amazing bit of history right there
a real genuine meeting….
Helicopter to lunch, as you do.
A deuce of Popes no one ever said before.
The craic was 90 between the two of them!
Live and let live. Born and raised RC but have not practiced for many tears. Still, I see Francis as a man who may yet reinvigorate the church.
Lets not forget all the good being done by the church too. And by church I mean the ordinary people within it.
John. That comment has made my day. I am a practising RC and very happy.
I am sad that so many have stopped attending church. And we have a generation that associates Catholicism only with child abuse. I am delighted with Pope Francis so far. Onwards and upwards i hope.
@ John.
Same here but I would like to think I will see change in the church and people like ourselves coming back.
The church has a long way to go but lets hope & pray .
I agree Mike.
I am delighted that so many Catholics have turned away from the RCC By doing this they are showing solidarity with the countless multitudes who have suffered at the hands of clerics internationally . Less and less people are being fooled by the hypocrisy , more and more are becoming enlightened and free . Thanks to technology , science and communication . I feel proud to belong to a group of a billion non believers on the planet. We must at all costs protect our youth from indoctrinaion by helping them to think critically for themselves and question everything. Replace religous myth and endoctrination with science fact. Dispel the false concept that a belief in god is a prequisite to being a good person.
Marvel Popes Assemble.
Religion is a fake man made. Look into it you will be shocked. All religions have the same characteristics virgin mother, the son, all have 12 people around them and all involve resurrection etc, how is that even possible.
I’m truly shocked.
61 thumbs down expected really, studied history, go back to Egyptian times look at what they worshiped look at the similarities it has to the way religion was created, look at how religions are so similar and all stem from what the Egyptians worshiped. They worshiped the sun with its halo of rays( thorns ) around it, the 12 stages of the sun( all religion has 12 people around the son) and much more, too long to explain and many people don’t want to believe it. But that’s their right, this was just research I did and the conclusion I came to.
I wouldn’t bother adelle, some people are so brain washed they will believe any non sense.
Adelle. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that religion is man made fiction. That probably explains half your red thumbs!
Adele
Quit while you’re behind!
Discovered this a few years ago as well, when my mum and I were chatting about the church I told her about, blew her mind completely.
For men of the poor they sure do like to fly by helicopter.
He says he would love to see a poor church for poor people, send him over the last fianna fail government, they will fix that for him pronto
Did Benedict borrow his jacket from Bianca Jackson?
They are breaking history,good to see them together
Didn’t realise Woody Allen was directing the next Star Wars movie with Benedict starring as Palpatine….
They look like boyfriends
we’re all going to heaven…weyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
History in the making amazing
Good call benedict.
They probably talked about how God made the speed of light 670 million MPH and how if that light left earth 100 years ago it would be around 20% across our own galaxy and that there are 400 billion galaxies and it was all made for humans who are in the creators likeness.
Oh yeah and how God doesn’t like gays.
I’m seeing double…4 popes!!!
Me Papa et u Papa
Im sure it was an exciting experience for both of them. Talking about communion and white hats, and other such epic topics.
It was far from a palace that Jesus was raised .
Francis seemed a bit in awe of Benedict as if he still considers him the boss.
The men in white
is Benedict wearing one of those padded pauls boutique jackets? long way from the Hugo boss he wore in his Nazi days …………. at least they have their support of a fascist regime in common ….. something to talk about i suppose
Castel Gandolfo! And where was Gandolf? He’d fit in lovely with the 2 boys. They may ask him to shave for the occasion, though!
guaranteed Brent Pope is feeling a little left out…
Does the old pope get to keep wearing his white hat even or should he wear a different one as I though white was just for the pope ? Anyone know ?
popes wear many hat’s, mostly what suits them at the moment
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