Rescuers have airlifted survivors and continue to search for missing people in southern France after heavy storms triggered flash floods that killed at least 19 people.
Nearly 2000 rescue workers rushed in to help hundreds trapped in their vehicles, houses or on rooftops in the Draguignan area near the Mediterranean coast, while helicopters were sent in to airlift residents to safety.
Emergency teams also moved 436 inmates from a flooded prison in Draguignan where the water covered the first two floors and they were taken to nearby jails.
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"I fear the (death) toll will be higher," said Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux, who visited the area to see for himself the extent of the damage by the floods that meteorologists said were the worst there since 1827.
Police warned people not to try to take out their cars because more bad weather was expected.
Heavy rains caused water levels to rise swiftly, preventing many people from fleeing to higher ground and forcing some to seek shelter on the roofs of their homes.
Around 1850 firefighters, soldiers and police officers and 11 helicopters have been mobilised, officials said, adding that 1,500 calls for help had been received.
The disaster reached the popular seaside resort of Frejus where more than 1,500 people were taken to safety, many in inflatable boats or by helicopter airlift to four shelters.
Up to 200,000 homes were left without electricity during the rainstorms and by late yesterday power had been restored to only around half of those, officials said.
The rising waters also trapped a high speed train travelling from Nice to Lille with 300 passengers on board.
SNCF rail authority halted train service between Toulon and Nice until Friday, and several other secondary routes were impassable.
President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement expressing condolences for the victims' families and support for rescue teams who are "mobilising non-stop to provide aid and find those still missing."
He plans to visit the area early next week, his office said.
The head of the emergency operation, Corinne Orzechowski, said more than 30cm of rain had fallen since Tuesday, causing water levels to rise to alarming levels in the streets of Draguignan, a town of some 40,000 residents.
"This morning, we woke up to find a city that was devastated, extremely battered with overturned cars floating in the streets, collapsed roads and gutted houses," said Orzechowski.
"We are still in the rescue phase before moving on to the cleanup," she said, adding that makeshift shelters were opened to welcome families left homeless by the floods.
Water levels on Wednesday had dropped slightly in Draguignan but rains were still battering the nearby towns of Roquebrune and Frejus, not far from the Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez, officials said.
In the village of Les Arcs, long-time resident Gerard Grangeon went searching for his sister-in-law's car which he found floating in the streets. "It's a real disaster," he said.
