AKIPRESS.COM - Violent storms and flooding have hit south-eastern France, killing at least 16 people with three more missing, officials say.

Three elderly people drowned when their retirement home near the city of Antibes was inundated with floodwater.

Others died trapped in their cars in tunnels and underground car parks as the waters rose, reports BBC.

French President Francois Hollande announced a state of "natural disaster" in the affected region.

He thanked rescuers and expressed the "solidarity of the nation".

Mr Hollande offered condolences as he visited the retirement home in the town of Biot and urged residents in the region to remain cautious, saying: "It's not over."

Heavy rain hit the French Riviera, which lies on the Mediterranean coast and borders Italy, on Saturday evening.