Flooding in Central Europe

Heavy rains in Europe have caused many rivers to burst their banks, wreaking havoc in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. At least 18 people died and tens of thousands were evacuated. East and South Germany are suffering from flooding as a result of a strong rise in the water level in the Elbe River, the overflowing Danube River threatens the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Flooding in many regions is the worst in 400 years.

(Total 36 photos)

1. Grimm City Hall surrounded by flood waters, Germany.

2. Fields flooded by the waters of the Elbe near Elster, Germany.

A firefighter climbs a flood barrier to check a hose in Dresden, Germany.

4. Night view of the city center of Passau and the overflowing Danube River, Germany.

5. Flooded cars near a car dealership in Fischerdorf, near Deggendorf, Germany.

6. Member of the Red Cross talks with local residents in the center of Passau, Germany. The raging waters of three rivers have inundated much of the southeastern German city of Passau after days of heavy rain across central Europe.

7. Flooding in Gyor, 120 km from Budapest, Hungary. The level of the Danube River in Budapest exceeded the record level of 2006 by 25 cm.

8. Flooding in Velen as a result of the flood of the Elbe River, Germany.

9. A cat tries to escape the flood waters of the Vltava River in Klae, near Melnik, Czech Republic.

10. Shipping containers on the flooded harbor in Rize, Saxony, Germany.

11. The door of a flooded house in the village of Lunki, Czech Republic.

12. A rescuer looks through a flooded street in Passau, Germany.

13. An emergency vehicle next to a flood barrier from the flood of the Danube River in Stein-Krems, Lower Austria.

14. Rescue workers place sandbags along a dam in Fischerdorf, Germany.

15. Volunteers place sandbags to deal with flooding in Dresden, Germany.

16. The roof of a flooded house near Meissen, Germany.

17. A woman with a rubber boat walks along a flooded street in Elster, Germany.

18. A boy sits in an army truck during the evacuation from the flooded village of Devin, Bratislava, Slovakia.

19. Traces of oil on the surface of the water as a result of the flooding of oil tanks near the Bavarian city of Deggendorf.

20. Partially submerged church as a result of the flood of the Danube River in Marbach, about 90 km west of Vienna, Austria.

21. Road sign on a flooded street in the village of Sarling, Lower Austria.

22. Petra Breitenfeller in her flood-damaged store in the center of the Bavarian city of Passau.

23. A glass lies in the dirt in a cafe in the center of Passau, Germany.

24. Partially flooded track near the Bavarian city of Deggendorf.

25. A man stands behind a protective barrier against flooding in the Devin district of Bratislava.

26. The old city center of Passau, flooded by the overflowing Danube and Inn rivers.

27. Members of the emergency rescue service move by boat along a flooded street in the center of the Austrian village of Emmersdorf.

28. Flooding in the small Austrian town of Steyr.

29. A girl with her dog stands in front of a flooded road that leads to her house, near the town of Litomerice, Czech Republic.

30. Flooded houses near Deggendorf.

31. Flooded bridge after heavy rains in Vienna, Austria.

32. People are saved from flood waters in a tractor bucket in the eastern Bavarian village of Niederalteich.

33. Emergency teams use water pumps on a dam near Deggendorf, Germany.

34. Flooding in Fischerdorf, Germany.

35. A female soldier during a break during the construction of a sandbag dam in Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

36. A family canoe crosses the flooded autobahn A3 in Deggendorf, Germany.