Three die as storms lash France

Marseilles firefighters answered 500 emergency calls

Three people have died and two are still missing as flash floods swept across much of southern France.

Thousands of people had to be evacuated from their homes and two nuclear reactors were forced to close.

The prefect of the region around Marseille, France's second city, said the emergency services had been put on a "war footing".

People have been warned not to drive after at least two people were feared swept away by surging floodwaters.

"All public services have been mobilised," said Environment Minister Roselyne Bachelot, speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting.

She said 3,600 people had been evacuated from their homes.

Swept away

Rescue services in Marseille used barges to evacuate 1,000 people from a northern suburb. Firefighters in the city answered 500 emergency calls.

They recovered the body of a 45-year-old man who had drowned in a flooded basement. A second person has been missing in the city since Monday.

Divers have been searching for a 53-year-old woman who is believed to have been swept off a bridge in the central Loire region and into a swollen river.

Another driver whose vehicle was swept away was rescued by helicopter.

A woman was found drowned in the River Meyne in the town of Orange, in Vaucluse district.

In neighbouring Ardeche district, a man in his 50s was found dead after a river burst its banks forcing him to lose control of his car,

Officials in the Ardeche region shut down two nuclear reactors at the Cruas-Meysse plant, fearing the flooded Rhone river could sweep branches and other obstructions into the cooling system.

The two 900-megawatt reactors are among four at the plant.

A spokeswoman for government nuclear safety authority ASN described the shutdown as a "preventative measure".

Dozens of road and rail links have been cut, and motorists have been advised to stay at home. Many schools have closed.

Seventeen of France's administrative departments have been placed on alert until Thursday amid forecasts that heavy rain will continue.

Officials are anxiously watching the situation in the Rhone Valley amid fears of further flooding.

The country is also battling a flu outbreak. Officials said two million cases were expected by the end of the week.

Some emergency departments in the Paris area have been filled to overflowing with flu victims, many of them children.