Flooding across Germany after night of heavy rainfall

Lightning strikes the top of the TV tower in Berlin (TNN/dpa via AP)

Storms have caused widespread flooding across central Germany overnight, with authorities warning that more rain is on the way.

Firefighters in the western city of Hagen said they had to rescue several drivers whose vehicles had become stuck in a flooded underpass.

A flooded street in Duesseldorf (dpa/AP)

Videos on social media showed streets knee-deep in water and others buried by landslides.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Hof county near the eastern border with the Czech Republic issued a disaster alert late on Tuesday as basements filled with water, trees were uprooted and some areas lost power overnight.

Several drivers had to be rescued in Hagen (dpa/AP)

Germany’s DWD weather service said the region saw 80 litres (more than 21 gallons) of rain per square metre in the space of 12 hours.

Meteorologists predicted further “extreme storms” in the western and central parts of Germany through Thursday, with peak rainfall possibly reaching 200 litres per square metre.