Misery deepens as floods spread

FLOODING spread through eastern Germany yesterday, threatening to add to the misery of tens of thousands forced from their homes as the country faced its biggest relief effort since World War II.

In Hungary, the Danube River peaked at a historic high in Budapest without causing major flooding after relief workers spent a frantic night bolstering dikes. The capital’s high flood walls, built at the turn of the last century, held off the floodwater in the city centre, though one barrier gave way in a northern suburb.

Europe is wrestling with the aftermath of violent storms that swept the continent two weeks ago. German