The French Interior Ministry said the death toll from flash floods in southwest France has nearly doubled to 13.

Ministry spokesman Frederic de Lanouvelle said Monday that one other person is missing and five others are seriously hurt after flash floods tore through towns, turning streams into raging torrents.

He said nine of the 13 dead were clustered in one town, Trebes, in the Aude region. The official said the death toll could rise still further.

Some people had to be helicoptered to safety from the roofs of their homes as overnight storms dumped several months of rain in just a few hours.