European floodwaters starting to subside

Brienz at the foot of the picturesque Bernese Alps in Switzerland – normally packed with tourists and hikers at this time of year – is instead coated with mud and debris today after days of devastating flooding.

Soldiers guarded the normally tidy city centre against looting, large sections were cordoned off and the residents counted the cost of this week’s floods, which killed a mother and her daughter, destroyed homes and left mud and rubble across town.