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.

HELICOPTERS ferried sandbags to plug the crumbling dikes of flooding rivers in eastern Germany yesterday, as workers scrambled to protect a huge chemical complex and towns such as Wittenberg, once the home of religious reformer Martin Luther.

Thousands of workers continued to fight devastating floods in central Europe today as the death toll from the disaster rose to at least 105.

German authorities evacuated thousands of people near Dresden's historic centre today as floodwaters in the Elbe River reached an all-time high, also spilling into a square close to some of the city's cultural landmarks.