Woman swept off bridge as storms lash France

Surging floodwaters swept a woman off a bridge in storms that lashed southern France, closing schools, roads and power plants and forcing the evacuation of dozens of people.

Divers were searching for the 53-year-old woman who went missing in Virigneux in the central Loire region.

In the southern Ardeche region, officials shut down two out of four nuclear reactors at the Cruas-Meysse power plant for fear that branches and leaves in the floodwaters would clog cooling systems.

Authorities in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille received 500 calls for flood-related incidents overnight. Around 30 people spent the night in a local gymnasium after being evacuated from their homes.

In Charlieu, in south-east France, 750 children had the day off from school because of flooding, and 90 people were evacuated from their homes.