Five people have died and thousands were evacuated in southern Germany after heavy rainfall hit the region and caused vast floods, prompting warnings from senior officials that the climate crisis was set to worsen extreme weather in the country.
Two people and a firefighter have been confirmed dead in Bavaria state, Juergen Weiss of the Bavarian firefighters’ Association said.
One of those killed was washed away in her car, while the cause of death for the second civilian is not yet known. The firefighter died when his inflatable rubber boat capsized.
Meanwhile, two more people died in their basement in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, police said. Authorities believe they perished while trying to pump water out of their basement.
Six people and a 22-year-old firefighter remain missing, regional authorities say.
After heavy rainfall, the German Armed Forces sent 800 personnel to the region to help with rescue efforts. The German weather service has forecast no more heavy rainfall.
The River Danube is the center of concern for rescue efforts, with high levels of water passing through the city of Regensburg on Tuesday morning, following an evacuation effort the evening before.
On Tuesday morning, the level of the Danube had reached 31.5 feet (9.6 meters) in Passau, according to the Bavarian State Environmental Office, almost double the normal level for this time of year.
Three rivers meet in the historic university town, where authorities have stopped motorized traffic and emptied underground car parks.
In Bavaria, more than 52,000 emergency workers have been deployed, most of them volunteers, the firefighters’ association said. But it added the vast area of flooding posed challenges for them.
