France puts flood death toll at 21

Cars wrecked by the floods are piled up outside the village of La Reglisserie

NIMES, France -- The official death toll from flash flooding in southeastern France has been revised down from 26 to 21.

As the waters began to retreat from disaster-hit villages on Wednesday, police were able to correct earlier estimates.

Police in Aramon, near Avignon, said seven of the 11 people they had reported dead had been found alive. Two confirmed deaths in other areas brought the toll to 21, officials said.

There are still 12 people missing in Gard, the area worst hit by the floods.

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, visiting the flood-hit area in and around the city of Nimes on Tuesday, pledged to release 10 million euros ($9.8m) of state aid for the region.

PHOTO GALLERY Images of flooding in France

"I have come here to show emotion and national solidarity for all our compatriots," Raffarin said in Sommieres.

Train services remain suspended across parts of southern France and many roads are still closed.

About 500 rescue workers have been joined by 300 soldiers after authorities declared a state of alert. Amphibious armoured cars were used to try to gain access to roads cut off by fast-flowing, waist-high water.

About 250 people were evacuated from their homes by helicopter while a further 900 were forced to flee to temporary shelters set up by the Red Cross and local authorities.

Rescuers come to the aid of stranded villagers in Aramon

The floods are the second in two weeks to have hit France.

Last month about 150 homes were flooded around the northern town of Lille while a "mini-tornado" ripped through parts of the French Riviera, including Nice and Cannes.

The heavy rain in France follows disastrous flooding in Germany, Russia, Austria and the Czech Republic earlier this summer which killed at least 98 people and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.