Marseille - Heavy overnight rains caused flooding in parts of southern France Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people and leaving at least one person dead, officials said.

French authorities issued a weather alert that would run to Thursday because of the continuing rain which has also cut roads and swollen rivers to the point of breaking over riverbanks.

The country's second biggest city, Marseille, was particularly hard-hit. Firemen said they recovered a body from a flooded underground tunnel in which four cars had been abandoned. No other details were immediately available.

In the east of the city, around 1,000 residents were evacuated as rising waters threatened their homes and pushed vehicles to one side. Firemen responded to more than 400 call-outs in all the city overnight, and reinforcements were called in from nearby towns.

Other areas, particularly in the southeast of France, were also at risk from the incessant rain, which was accompanied by strong winds. Police urged parents in Marseille and Avignon to keep their children at home. People were discouraged from using their cars because of the number of roads underwater and the bumper-to-bumper traffic on routes into the bigger cities and towns. Traffic was expected to be disrupted on local rail lines, and sporadic blackouts were also possible, officers said.

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