Thousands of people were evacuated during the weekend and more are set to leave their homes as southern Germany was roiled by severe flooding that left one emergency rescuer dead and at least one more person missing on Sunday evening.
Several villages along the Danube and Schmutter rivers were evacuated as an official pointed to concerns about a dam on Sunday evening.
People affected were told to stay calm, pack the essentials and follow the instructions of the emergency services.
Heavy rains and flooding across two states caused disruption throughout the weekend and more rain was set to come, the weather service said.
Near Lake Constance, further floods were expected after a river burst its banks, flooding local streets.
Tens of thousands of emergency services have been in constant action as of Friday evening, particularly in Upper Bavaria and Swabia, building sandbag dams, pumping water, cordoning off danger zones and rescuing people from flooded homes.
One firefighter was killed, another was still missing on Sunday evening, as was a woman.
Meanwhile, people on the Danube are preparing for the impending flood wave and transport rescue services were lining up rescue helicopters equipped with winches, said a spokesman for the ADAC air rescue service.
In total, at least 40,000 emergency workers have participated in rescue efforts since Friday, while Germany’s army also stepped in to help as rivers in the region swelled.
A firefighter died overnight after his rubber dinghy capsized in the Bavarian town of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, which lies some 40 kilometres north of Munich.
His three colleagues in the boat were able to pull themselves to safety, but the firefighter’s body was found early on Sunday morning, local authorities said.
The responders had been on their way to rescue a family in the severely flooded area. There were no details on what happened to the family.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday expressed his condolences on the social media platform X. “The death of a firefighter in Pfaffenhofen has shocked me,” he said, adding that his thoughts were with the firefighter’s relatives and colleagues.
Scholz is set to visit the region on Monday. On Sunday, several lawmakers travelled to the affected areas, including Vice Chancellor Robert Bavarian premier Markus Söder and the state’s interior minister, Joachim Herrmann.
Söder and others paid tribute to the people who were struggling with the high waters and the help and support shown. “Together we will get through this,” he wrote on X.
He and Habeck said they were shocked by the firefighter’s death. “It’s terrible. He died trying to save people from the floods,” Habeck said.
An employee of an energy company was critically injured after suffered an electric shock in Freising, Upper Bavaria, the police said.
There were also concerns about several people missing, amid the extreme rainfall.
So far, some 3,000 people in Bavaria were evacuated from flooded areas, a state interior ministry spokeswoman said on Sunday.
A fire services spokesman said the flooding in the region was unpredictable and the most extreme seen to date.
Earlier, the German Meteorological Service (DWD) said that some regions in southern Germany recorded more than a month’s worth of rain within 24 hours.
Kisslegg in the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg recorded 130 millimetres of rain on Friday alone, the DWD reported. The region normally reports 118 millimetres per month at this time of year.
In Bavaria’s Bad Wörishofen, 129 millimetres fell within 24 hours, by comparison with a monthly average of 101 millimetres.
Further heavy rainfall is forecast. The DWD warned of extreme amounts of rain, especially in southern Germany.
Source Agencies
