LOURDES, France, June 19 (UPI) -- A 70-year-old woman died after being swept away by floodwaters in southern France, officials said Wednesday.
The woman and her husband tried to escape from their car and were caught in floodwaters uphill from Lourdes in Pierrefitte-Nestelas. Emergency personnel rescued the husband.
New thunderstorms hit towns along the foothills of the Pyrenees, worsening floodwaters plaguing the region this week, Radio France Internationale reported.
Officials said waters were beginning to recede as the Gave de Pau river subsided but a Catholic pilgrimage site, the Lourdes grotto, remained closed, under more than 4 feet of water. A pilgrimage of 3,000 people to the grotto scheduled Wednesday was canceled.
Two-thousand residents were evacuated from flood-hit areas in the region, Radio France Internationale said.
Nearly 6 feet of water inundated the village of Saint-Beat, one of the hardest hit communities in the area, the broadcaster said.
Local schools and some roads were closed Wednesday due to the weather conditions.
