Killer Storm Pounds France, Italy

Heavy rain in the Alps cut off tunnels and roads and flooded villages, forcing hundreds from their homes and killing at least 12 people, officials said Saturday.

Officials called it the worst flooding in the Savoie region of France in 35 years, with damage to transport routes alone in the tens of millions of dollars.

In northeastern Italy, flooding caused by three days of torrential rain killed six people. In southern France, the body of a tourist, believed to be Swiss, was found in a landslide at Mt. Cenis. He was the sixth person to die in the region because of the rains.

Many roads in France remained closed. Phone service was impaired and water supplies were cut or contaminated.