After a reportedly calm morning, the Corsican capital of Ajaccio was throttled by 103mm (four inches) of rain in just two hours, triggering flash flooding across the city, wreaking havoc on residents and businesses alike.
Intense thunderstorms localized over Ajaccio at around 11:30am local time on Thursday. The flooding began with an initial shower which dropped 40mm (1.5 inches) of rain in half an hour.
The storm then gathered pace as it continued into the afternoon and, after drainage systems were overwhelmed, city workers scrambled to replace burst sewer drain covers.
As eyewitness footage from the scene shows, cars and dumpsters were tossed around like toys by the flood waters.
The local fire department asked residents to shelter in place so they could limit the number of emergencies; one firefighter was injured during rescue operations.
Meanwhile, schools were dismissed early and the flooding worsened as the day progressed.
Storm barriers have been erected across entrances in the north and east of the city, and further severe weather warnings have already been issued for the weekend.
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