A train has derailed, people are stuck in their homes and a firefighter has died. Heavy rainfall is causing major problems in southern Germany.
The sky opened up on Friday and the rain has since caused flooding in the states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in southern Germany. In some places, more rain has fallen in 24 hours than is normal for a whole month.
In Bavaria, around 40,000 rescue workers have been deployed to deal with the flooding, according to Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder, as reported by Süddeutsche Zeitung. Approximately 3,000 residents of the state have had to leave their homes.
The extreme weather is expected to continue until Monday. A state of emergency has been declared in several districts and weather warnings have been issued.
A firefighter in his 40s has died in connection with rescue work in the Bavarian town of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm. He was trying to rescue a stranded family when his inflatable boat capsized.
A rescue operation has been launched in the Bavarian community of Offingen to search for a missing volunteer firefighter.
About an hour after the firefighter's death, two dams burst near Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, according to local officials. In Schrobenhausen, a woman is missing after her cellar was flooded. Police and divers have been sent to the scene, but have not been able to reach it, reports Deutsche Welle.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to visit the affected areas on Monday, despite warnings from German weather authorities of further rain in southern and eastern Germany. In a post on X, he expresses his solidarity and describes his gratitude for the efforts being made to combat the water masses.
Many streets, cellars, and cars are completely or partially underwater. The railway connection between Stuttgart and Augsburg has been closed, reports Deutsche Bahn. Two carriages of a high-speed train that was traveling on the line derailed after a landslide – but none of the passengers were injured.
