The water keeps rising
Heavy rainfall has led rivers to burst their banks in Germany and neighboring countries. Tens of thousands of emergency staff are on the ground – as well as politicians, who like being photographed with sandbags.
Historic flooding in Passau
The population of Passau is used to high water levels. The town is located where the rivers Danube, Inn and Ilz meet and parts of the old baroque town are regularly flooded. This time around, it’s much worse. On Monday morning, the Danube reached the level of the record 1954 flood. And the water keeps rising.
Extensive relief mission
Across Germany, some 28,000 firefighters are deployed to help, plus 1,800 helpers from the German Techical Relief Agency (THW) and 1,760 soldiers sent by the defense ministry.
Defying the flood
As here in Passau in Upper Bavaria, many people depend on the help of firefighters to somehow get to work, to go shopping or to return to their homes.
Evacuation
Bundeswehr soldiers check houses in Passau's old town for anyone who has not yet evacuated. Individuals remaining inside the homes are to be removed from danger and taken to a collective meeting point for evacuees.
Politicians visit flood areas
Ever since former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder experienced a surge in popularity following visits to flood-stricken areas near the Elbe and Oder rivers in 2002, a sandbag photo-op has become a political imperative - particularly around election time. On Tuesday, Angela Merkel visited Passau with Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich and Bavarian Premier Horst Seehofer.
Passau under water
Even areas that were spared during the flood of the century in 1954 in Passau, are now under water. In houses on the banks of the Danube, the water is reaching the top floors.
Red alert on the Elbe river
Fire fighters try to bring the flood under control near Klaffenbach castle in Chemnitz in Saxony. A dam was undermined by water near Nitschka, and parts of a town had to be evacuated. A red alert was issued for the upper Elbe valley.
Surprised by the disaster
Many people were taken by surprise by the floods, like here in Rosenheim near Munich. The driver of this car had obviously not expected the Mangfall river to rise to this level.
Sandbags are essential
Sandbags are the most efficient tools against flooding. The bags - made of jute or plastic - carry 15 kilograms of sand each and are used to protect entrances and shops from the water, strengthen eroded dams temporarily and push back rivers. Fire brigades and THW have hundreds of thousands of them ready for deployment.
Saving people’s lives comes before dike protection
The town center of Grimma in Saxony has been entirely sealed off since Sunday. Two thousand people have been taken to safety. In the Leipzig district, firefighters focus on rescuing people from their homes. That means abandoning the task of repairing threatened dikes. But that could lead to even more water flooding into towns if the dikes collapse.
Red alert in neighboring countries
Heavy rainfalls have also led to flooding in Austria, like here in Ranshofen, the Czech Republic and parts of Switzerland. In mountain areas, melt water has made rivers burst their banks in the valleys .
Mudslides from the mountains
In the mountainous areas near Salzburg in Austria, the water masses have sent mudslides and debris avalanching down the mountains into the valleys, sweeping cars away with them - like here in Taxenbach.
Dark clouds over Passau
While the floods seem to have reached their peak in many German regions, the worst is probably still to come in Passau. The Inn river, in particular, that comes from the Tyrol mountains keeps rising.