Germany continues to battle widespread flooding across its south from heavy rainfall that has disrupted rail transportation and pushed emergency services to their limits. A fire fighter responding to the floods with three colleagues drowned early Sunday morning when their inflatable boat capsized near Pfaffenhofen, about an hour north of Munich.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck, also Germany’s vice chancellor, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed their condolences for the tragic incident. With almost half of Germany under flood warnings, parts of the eastern states of Thuringia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Brandenburg are particularly affected.
Several regions of Bavaria have surpassed flood levels seen once in a century, prompting high- and very-high water alerts on the Danube River and its tributaries. The country’s meteorological service has forecast more heavy thunderstorms in the coming days, especially in the south and some eastern parts of Germany. Emergency response efforts continue as the nation grapples with the aftermath of the devastating floods.
