Weather event featuring strong winds, heavy rain, and possibly hail or snow. - Southern Germany suffers from heavy flooding.
A car submerged in a city fountain, resembling a toy cast aside. Deluges of brown water overflow onto a federal highway, as a noise barrier can no longer cope with the water pressure and explodes. People trying to shield their homes with beer tables from the floods.
The images resulting from the floods in extensive areas of South Germany are captivating. The aftermath is equally devastating. After the water recedes, not only the severe damage and mounds of dirt become visible. On Monday, rescue squads discover three deceased individuals in basements in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
The situation in the flooded regions remains in flux: Numerous minor communities are affected, with thousands of responders still operating. Dams in Bavaria are in peril of collapsing, further intensifying the flow of the flood towards the east of the state. In Baden-Württemberg, authorities are cautiously optimistic and lift alerts in certain places.
The tally of casualties rises onwards
Yet, the sorrow from the deceased in the flood-stricken zones lingers: A woman is found expired in the cellar of a house in the Upper Bavarian Schrobenhausen - a missing 43-year-old, whose whereabouts had been sought since Sunday. The bodies of a man and a woman are identified in the particularly flood-affected Rems-Murr-Kreis in Baden-Württemberg - both discovered in a flooded cellar. The circumstances of their deaths remain unknown. A firefighter perished during the flood rescue, while another firefighter is missing in Swabia.
The two deceased in Baden-Württemberg remain unidentified, as Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) pays a visit to South Germany in the morning to grasp the situation. Chancellor Scholz has previously attended sad flood sites. "This is the fourth time this year that I've come to a particular emergency area to check things out," Scholz states in front of the fire department's command post in Upper Bavaria's Reichertshofen.
The calamities mount
In rubber boots, he had inspected the partially flooded small river Paar earlier in the day, which inundated the market town. Whole street sections were flooded here, as in many other portions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The persistent rainfall from the weekend brings disaster to tens of thousands of people. "We cannot overlook the responsibility of preventing human-induced climate change," declares Scholz. "That is also a message embodied in this incident and tragedy."
While here in Reichertshofen, pumps and generators are laboring to drain flooded cellars, people are still at odds with the floods elsewhere. Images show residents of the town of Burgau east of Ulm, who have constructed barricades to safeguard their properties - with sandbags and beer tables. In the neighboring Günzburg, a resident informs the "Tagesschau," he has been active since 5:00 a.m., "Basement and living room - everything is underwater." An elderly woman, whose residence was being cleared by rescuers, declares solemnly, "That's my home!"
Rays of hope [end]
In Baden-Württemberg, the situation appears to settle slightly. Recently, the emergency personnel's efforts were primarily concentrated around Stuttgart and further east. In Rudersberg, a district in the Rems-Murr region northeast of the state capital, water has uplifted cars, several of which came to rest on train tracks, one on a fountain in the city center, as demonstrated in images from Monday.
On muddy roads, household items have been washed out of houses, a sneaker, puzzle pieces. On a bridge, an accumulation of debris is visible. In Miedelsbach, a section of Schorndorf, water masses have piled cars upon each other overnight. At least on Monday, there are indicators of relief in the area, with alerts being canceled. Interior Minister of the state, Thomas Strobl, defines it as a "tense static" situation.
In Bavaria, however, considering the Danube is now the focus of concern. "We can see that the flood is moving," remarks Söder, who accompanies Scholz on a flood tour. The city of Regensburg declares a state of emergency on Monday. The severity of the predicament remains uncertain. "We hope to weather the next few days well," says Söder. "We remain on alert."
