3 die as floods struck southern France

Floods triggered by heavy and prolonged rainfall killed three people in southern France, the country's Interior Ministry announced on Thursday.

"During the past three days, particularly severe storms have hit the south of France, causing 3 deaths and serious damage to the territories," the ministry said in a statement without giving details on the victims.

One month worth of rain fell in just a few hours on Wednesday, triggering a rise in water level and floods which plunged parts of southern France into chaos.

The long episode of rainfall had forced railway company SNCF to halt trains traffic between Toulouse and Montpellier as well as between Montpellier, Perpignan and Spain, until Nov. 4.

Some 2,000 rescuers have been deployed to ensure rescue operations in the affected areas, the ministry said.

The government is set to declare a state of natural disaster to speed up the clean-up process and allow emergency funds to be released to the stricken region, it added.

The ministry stressed "everyone must remain vigilant" as heavy downpours were predicted to hit eastern zones of Haute-Corse on Thursday.