Germany has dispatched thousands of soldiers to help cities and towns cope with flooding from the rain-soaked Danube and other southern rivers, a day after the Bavarian city of Passau saw its worst flooding since 1501.

Floodwaters continued to threaten Czech towns and villages in the north and south-east, preventing thousands of people from returning to their homes.

Prague braced for flooding today and 10,000 people were evacuated from their homes in a south-eastern town as rivers, swollen by rain and melting snow, rose to dangerous levels.