PARIS/ROME • A fireman died and 19 people were missing in France and Italy after a storm hit border regions of the two countries, causing heavy flooding that swept away roads and damaged homes, the authorities said yesterday.

The storm, dubbed Alex, ravaged several villages around the city of Nice on the French Riviera.

Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi called it the worst flooding disaster in the area for more than a century after flying over the worst-hit area by helicopter. "The roads and about 100 houses were swept away or partially destroyed," he told French news channel BFM.

At least eight people were missing in France, the authorities said. These included two firemen whose vehicle was carried away by a swollen river, according to local witnesses cited by French media.

In Italy, at least one person died and up to 11 people were missing, the local authorities said. A fireman was killed by a falling tree in the Valle d'Aosta region, while three people travelling in a van were swept away by flood waters in Val Roya, on the border with France.

Six German trekkers were among the missing after failing to return from a trip in the mountains in the province of Cuneo.

Officials in Italy's Piedmont region reported a record 630mm of rain in just 24 hours in Sambughetto, close to the border with Switzerland. Piedmont regional chief Alberto Cirio called on the government to declare a state of emergency.

Mr Eric Ciotti, a member of the French Parliament who is from one of the worst-affected villages in the area, Saint-Martin-Vesubie, said several villages were cut off as they are located in steep-sided valleys of the mountainous region.

Meteo France said that 450mm of rain was registered over 24 hours in some areas - the equivalent of close to four months of rain at this time of the year.

REUTERS