Europe 1 with AFP 11:07 am, September 15, 2021, modified at 11:07 am, September 15, 2021

The 65-year-old man had been missing since Tuesday afternoon after the violent storms that hit the Gard.

He was finally found safe and sound by the gendarmes, announced the prefecture. 

The person reported missing since Tuesday afternoon in the town of Aimargues, southwest of Nîmes, following the violent storms that hit the Gard, was found safe and sound Wednesday morning by the gendarmes, announced the prefecture of the department.

This 65-year-old man, "initially supposed to have fallen into the Rhony", a tributary of the Vistre, had "found refuge at the time of the rising waters," said the same source.

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The 65-year-old man reported missing in the afternoon in the town of Aimargues, initially supposed to have fallen in the Rhony, was found safe and sound by the gendarmes.

He had found refuge at the time of the rising waters.

- Préfète du Gard (@ Prefete30) September 15, 2021

We "stopped the search operations following information from the gendarmerie according to which this person was found", the Gard firefighters confirmed to AFP.

If the situation calmed down on Tuesday afternoon and evening in the Gard, after the department was briefly placed in red vigilance by Météo-France, it could deteriorate again on Wednesday morning.

After having alerted in its 6 o'clock bulletin to "a significant risk of violent phenomena" in the Gard and Hérault, Météo France seemed less alarmist in its following bulletin, at 10:00 am, while five departments are on orange vigilance for thunderstorms and rain-floods, with Ardèche, Drôme and Isère.

Several secondary roads remain closed to traffic

Repeating that this rainy-thunderstorm episode at the end of summer is "not exceptional for the season", the weather forecasting institute warns that it could "generate significant accumulations of rain in a short time", before winning the 'Ardèche and Drôme in the afternoon.

Rainfall in the order of 80 to 100 mm is expected locally.

As of Wednesday morning, a handful of secondary roads remained closed to traffic in the affected area, southwest of Nîmes.

The 800 firefighters deployed in the field were continuing non-emergency operations.