Several parts of southern France remain on flood alert after torrential rains forced the evacuation of more than 1,600 people across the region.

British campers are among those recovering in emergency shelters after they were rescued from campsites in Gard, Ardeche and Drome.

More than 400 firefighters and police officers, backed by helicopters, were involved in the flooding rescue operation after two rivers in northern Gard spilled out of their banks.

Nearly 120 children were evacuated from the Saint-Julien-de-Peyrolas campsite – among the 750 people moved to safety across Gard.

Divers are searching the swollen waters for a 70-year-old German man reported missing. The man is believed to have been supervising children at the Saint-Julien-de-Peyrolas summer camp and is feared to have been swept away by floodwaters.

“No one has suitcases. We just have what we're wearing,” said Rita Mauersberger, a German camper taking shelter in a local hall in Saint-Julien-de-Peyrolas.

Rachel Buchanan, from Oxford, managed to make a dramatic escape from a camp site near a river in the Ardeche region in a camper van.

“The level and speed of the river today was extraordinary - we woke up in about a foot of water,” she told the BBC.

“Driving in our camper van was very frightening as the road by the river was completely under water and waterfalls had appeared from nowhere crashing down the gorge.”

Four German children were sent to hospital in Bagnols-sur-Ceze, a town on the swollen Ceze River, and treated for hypothermia, according to the Gard administration. They were among 10 people hospitalised with minor injuries, the Gard gendarmerie reported on its Facebook page.

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Several roads in the region were cut off overnight.

The French weather service has issued orange and yellow alerts for parts of southern France that will remain in place until 4pm on Friday.

Authorities warned that the flooding would take time to recede and urged people to be vigilant.

The UK Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said nearly three inches of rain fell over south-east France in 24 hours.

“It’s located in the area of hot weather that has been affecting much of Europe just recently, although there is a cold front moving south,” he said.

“There are still storms around, although they are starting to ease a little bit.”