Thousands evacuated as Dresden awaits its fate

More than 30,000 people were evacuated from historic Dresden today as floodwaters in the Elbe River surged past an all-time high, closing in on cultural landmarks already waterlogged by an earlier wave of high water.

At the famed 19th century Semper Opera in the old city, emergency crews gave up pumping water out of the basement as the dirty brown tide kept rising.