French rescuers help hundreds flee hotels as floods hit Roman Catholic shrine town of Lourdes

By Associated Press, Updated: Saturday, October 20, 4:15 PM

PARIS — Pilgrims trek by the millions each year to the Roman Catholic shrine in Lourdes, many looking to drink its spring waters reputed for their healing powers. This time, visitors were fleeing a different kind of water — floodwaters — in the southwestern French town.

Rescue teams helped hundreds of pilgrims escape waterlogged hotels on Saturday after heavy rains led the Gave River to overrun its banks — and even wash up into the town’s famed grotto, where many Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared to a 14-year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.

The regional government issued a statement late Saturday saying 427 people had been evacuated from their hotels. The Red Cross and regional authorities provided food and shelter to the escapees, as authorities warned of forecasts for more rain in the region.

In one televised image, a rescuer waded waist-deep into a hotel lobby with a red boat in tow and teams helped elderly visitors inside for a trip to higher ground. Others showed a fast-flowing, white-water river rumbling through the town, and the grotto — or cave — was filled with about 1.5 meters of water, under a niche statute of the Virgin Mary.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/french-rescuers-evacuate-500-from-hotels-as-floods-hit-roman-catholic-shrine-town-of-lourdes/2012/10/20/cdd188a4-1aa8-11e2-ad4a-e5a958b60a1e_story.html

Well, that's ironic. I hope everyone is safe. Pictures at link.