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Holiday campers evacuated as floods hit southern France

Holiday campers are among 1,600 people forced to evacuate due to heavy flooding in southern France.

A 70-year-old German man who was helping to supervise children at one of the summer camps was reported as missing.

The worst-hit areas are Gard, Ardèche and Drôme. More than 400 firefighters and police – as well as four helicopters – have been deployed.

The flooding comes after southern France – and much of Europe – experienced unusually hot weather.

The French interior ministry said six departments were placed on a flood alert.

Several people were taken to hospital with minor injuries, officials said.

Rachel Buchanan, from Oxford, was camping close to a river in Ardèche when flooding hit.

“We knew a storm was imminent and couldn’t believe the ferocity of last night’s storm,” she told the BBC.

“The level and speed of the river today was extraordinary – we woke up in about a foot of water.

“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.”

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