The death toll from the violent storm that lashed western France rose to 47 today.
Most deaths were concentrated in the Vendee region on the Atlantic coast.
The Government said that the number of dead was certain to increase as more than 9,000 rescue workers make house-to-house visits.
The storm blew into France early yesterday, flooding ports, destroying homes and leaving a million households without electricity. The storm, named Xynthia, was the worst in France since 1999, when 90 people died. Many of the victims drowned, while others died when hit by parts of buildings or trees that were ripped off by high winds.
Prime minister François Fillon spoke of a “national catastrophe” when the extent of damage wrought by the storm became clear yesterday. “Now the priority is to bring all the people left homeless and still threatened by the rising waters to safety,” he said.
President Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting the region today.
Mr Sarkozy pledged €3 million in emergency aid as firefighters and other emergency rescue workers continued searching for those still stranded and additional victims.
A spokesman for France’s emergency services said nine people were still missing and scores more were injured.
The storm also caused six deaths in Germany - including a two-year-old boy who drowned after he was blown into a river. Three people were dead in Spain, and Belgium and Portugal had one fatality each.
The storm also hit train and air travel throughout the continent, with major delays on France’s railways and continued cancellations today at Frankfurt airport - one of Europe’s most important hubs.
Mr Sarkozy flew over parts of Vendee and Charente-Maritime and met officials and residents of the coastal town of L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer, where sea walls broke and ocean waters surged to the roofs of some homes. He promised to declare a natural disaster area and quickly channel the recovery funds.
Local officials say the extensive damage underscored the urgent need to upgrade France’s ageing sea walls and more strictly enforce coastal building codes.
Meanwhile in the Azores a flash flood swept a school bus off a road. The driver and one child were missing on Sao Miguel, one of the archipelago’s nine islands.
AP