Floods in France leave 18 dead

At least 18 people were killed after flash floods hit the backhills of the French Riviera, the local administration said Wednesday.

The death toll was preliminary, the Var region prefecture said.

Officials had earlier said that 15 people died in the flooding that turned streets into yard-high brown rivers and 12 more were missing.

The floods swept away cars, trees and parts of houses in a downpour that devastated the picturesque region in the hills behind a portion of the Riviera.