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

authorities reported three more deaths yesterday, bringing the Europe-wide toll to at least 109.

Forecasters predicted generally dry weather for Austria and Germany over the next few days, with scattered showers over western Hungary. No abundant rainfall was expected.

The floodwater has ebbed in Austria and the Czech Republic and begun to fall in Dresden, the biggest German city hit so far, allowing the start of a massive cleanup and rebuilding operation expected to cost some 20.5 billion Europe-wide.

Under sunny summer skies yesterday, thousands of emergency workers, soldiers and volunteers were working to pile tons of sandbags onto sodden dikes along Germany’s Elbe and Mulde rivers to protect smaller towns.

More than 80,000 people have been evacuated across the region. Denmark shipped 650,000 sandbags to Germany to help, while others also offered help.