British woman is one of three confirmed dead as severe flooding hits the south of France

Emergency services are still carrying out rescue operations in the region

A 68-year-old British woman died after being swept away by a flood outside her home in Cazouls-d’Herault, east of Beziers, French media have reported.

It is believed the woman was carried away by the floods in the town and was later found unconscious in a vineyard, about 100m away.

She was then taken by helicopter to hospital in Montpellier where she later died.

About 2,000 firefighters and emergency service personnel were deployed to the region when rivers burst their banks, blocking roads and causing widespread chaos.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Cazouls-d’Herault and our staff are in contact with the French authorities.”

French officials said later that it was not clear whether the two other reported deaths were directly linked to the flooding.

In the Gard region, a man in his 90s was killed on Wednesday when his car came off the road.

A resident cleans his house up the aftermath of powerful storms in Villeneuve-les-Beziers, southern France, on October 24, 2019. (Photo by PASCAL GUYOT/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)

Authorities in the Pyrénées-Orientales prefecture also told AFP that a homeless man was found dead on Tuesday. An inquiry was under way to determine the cause of his death.

Around 700 homes remain without power in Herault and Gard, and the flooding could halt train services across much of the area until at least November 4, the SNCF train has operator warned.

Heavy floods have caused widespread damage in southern Europe this week with at least two people killed in Italy and one person in northern Spain.