Roman Catholic pilgrims are told to evacuate on Tuesday (June 18) as floodwater pours through Lourdes, France.

The wave of water rises to a bridge overlooking the hillside grotto where believers say The Virgin Mary appeared to a peasant girl in 1858.

The site attracts nearly six million visitors annually.

Many come to bathe in the shrine's grottos, where the water is believed to have healing powers.

Now some may be praying for the flood to recede.