Southern Germany Floods: Rising Death Toll Amid Persistent Deluge

The death toll from floods in southern Germany rose to four as Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the affected area. Persistent heavy rain caused widespread flooding in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg, disrupting transport and leading to evacuations. Officials warned that water levels could still rise further in some areas.

The death toll in floods across a large part of southern Germany surged to four on Monday as rescuers recovered three bodies from inundated basements. Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the flooded region, and officials warned of further potential increases in water levels.

The body of a 43-year-old woman, whom rescuers had been seeking since Sunday morning, was discovered in a basement in the Bavarian town of Schrobenhausen. In nearby Pfaffenhofen, a firefighter was found dead on Sunday after an inflatable boat he was using with colleagues capsized.

Later on Monday, authorities reported the bodies of a man and a woman found in a flooded basement in Schorndorf, near Stuttgart. The area had been inundated and subsequently pumped dry.

Persistent heavy rain over the weekend led to widespread flooding in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg. The deluge caused extensive transport disruptions, with long-distance rail routes to Munich from the north and west rendered inoperative on Monday.

During his visit to Reichertshofen, north of Munich, Scholz inspected a sandbagged riverbank and met with regional officials, including Bavaria's governor Markus Söder.

Söder indicated that the situation remains critical and tense, with water receding in some areas but new flooding and evacuations occurring elsewhere. He highlighted that water levels are expected to rise in the city of Regensburg and further down the Danube River.

Chancellor Scholz emphasized that the recent succession of floods demonstrates the urgency of addressing man-made climate change, stating, 'This is not just an isolated event.'

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