Severe floods bring panic in France with animals swept away and villagers forced to travel around by boat [Video]

Severe flooding has brought panic to the streets of France as animals are swept away, roads are submerged in muddy waters and villagers are forced to travel by boat. 

Yesterday the country was grappling with its worst flooding in the last 40 years following bouts heavy rainfall on Thursday. 

Shocking footage emerged on social media shows the streets of Bayonne completely flooded after torrential rain caused the neighbouring Adour river to overflow. 

Elsewhere in central France, Grangent dam could be seen attempting to control a goliath flow of water – which at one point exceeded over 2 million litres of water, according to Météo Express.

The heavy flooding battered parts of France, leaving some in its mountainous southeast region with power outages and serious damage, the AFP reports.