At least four people have died as a result of severe flooding in southern Germany. Chancellor Olaf Scholz refers to the flooding as "a warning we must take with us" in the fight against climate change.
The water masses in the states of Württemberg and Bavaria continue to be very high in many places, and many warnings have been issued, especially in Bavaria, which has been worst affected with over 20,000 evacuated.
The city of Rosenheim in southern Bavaria has declared a state of catastrophe for the entire municipality to facilitate easier coordination of rescue efforts.
Two of the fatalities occurred when two people tried to pump water out of their cellar in Schorndorf, east of Stuttgart. Another fatality was a volunteer firefighter who died when his car overturned. One firefighter is still missing after disappearing on Sunday.
Many schools have been closed and several trains have been cancelled. The state of Hesse has also been affected, although not to the same extent.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Württemberg and Bavaria on Monday. According to Tagesschau, he pointed out that it was his fourth visit to a flooded area this year and emphasized that the flooding is no longer a "one-off event".
The intense rain began on Friday and has continued throughout the weekend and all of Monday. In some places, it had already been recorded on Sunday that more rain had fallen than is normal for an entire month.
From Tuesday, the precipitation is expected to subside, according to the German weather service DWD.
