VALABRE (France) Dec 3: President Jacques Chirac met rescue workers on Wednesday in southeastern France, where devastating floods have claimed five lives and forced 15,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Road, rail and air traffic was disrupted by relentless rain and high winds, and four nuclear power reactors were shut down as flooding along the Rhone river and its tributaries between Lyon and Marseille turned the region into a disaster area.

Chirac, en route for a state visit to Tunis, flew low over stretches of submerged countryside and stopped off at the town of Valabre, between Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, for a briefing from fire officials as the flash floods peaked.

“In the face of this new catastrophe, my thoughts go to the victims and those who have lost everything,” Chirac said after his government announced 12 million euros ($14.5 million) in initial emergency funds for the region.

“I want to tell them they can count on the solidarity of the nation now and in the future,” he said, adding that almost 10,000 rescue workers had been mobilised to help those affected.

Chirac flew straight on to Tunisia after a whistle-stop visit of just under an hour. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and Environment Minister Roselyne Bachelot, who accompanied him, continued on to inspect other flood-hit areas.

Firemen said they had found the body of a man aged about 60 trapped in tree branches in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, taking the death toll to five.

Television pictures showed overturned cars swept up by the deluge and the tops of street signs poking above the floodwaters. Rescue workers in boats paddled between houses and rescued drivers from submerged vehicles.—Reuters