Severe floods in the southern region of France

On June 18, thousands of pilgrims were evacuated from a famous shrine in the city of Lourdes in southern France due to flooding that drowned some administrative areas in this area and surrounding areas.

According to the spokesman of the center of pilgrimage, the water level in the holy area was higher than all forecasts, so pilgrims were evacuated to prevent incidents. Pilgrimage of believers from the French city of Arras and from Italy to the region on June 19 is also recommended to be postponed. Do not exclude the case of temporary power cuts across the holy area to prevent short circuit.

Evacuation activities were carried out in flooded areas in 2012. (Source: abc.net.au)

In addition, more than 1,000 room tenants at hotels in all residential areas along the banks of the Gave de Pau river whose water has surged, are also evacuated to safety.

Local government representatives said this rare flood with heavy rainfall caused heavy material damage to the city. Hundreds of rescue workers were dispatched to rescue and rescue. This is considered a rare phenomenon in this famous holy area, but its devastating power is compared to the flood in October 2012 that caused 2.5 million euros.

According to the forecast of the National Meteorological Agency, in the coming days, in the two administrative regions of Pyrenees Atlantiques and the Hautes Pyrenees, there is still the situation of heavy rain causing flooding to reach the most dangerous level - the " level red action ". In addition, 10 administrative districts in the southwest of France have also been placed in "orange alarm" status - dangerous level after "red alert".

The city of Lourdes is one of the largest pilgrimage centers in the Christian world. Every year, Lourdes welcomes nearly 6 million visitors from more than 70 countries around the world.