Troops in action as flooding death toll increases

The death toll included seven in the neighbouring Czech Republic, where a man found dead in the water in eastern Bohemia was the latest victim. Another nine people have been reported missing in the floods that have also swept through Austria and Switzerland.

The military reinforcements in Germany came a day after the Bavarian city of Passau saw its worst flooding since 1501.

Chancellor Angela Merkel toured flooded regions, pledging at least 50 million euros (£42m) in immediate federal help and holding out the possibility for more. She told reporters in Passau, a city of 50,000 on the Austrian border, that the damage looked worse than during the massive flooding that hit central Europe in 2002.

About 4,000 German soldiers were called in as well as more than 2,000 federal disaster workers and 600 federal police to sandbag areas in danger of flooding and provide other assistance. Water levels were still rising in major rivers such as the Danube and Elbe as well as tributaries.

In the Czech Republic, authorities evacuated animals from Prague Zoo and closed a major bridge in the capital.

The rain in Prague has halted but the Vltava river that runs through the city and flows into the Elbe 
is still raging, with currents and water levels far exceeding the norm.

The famous Charles Bridge was closed as a precaution.

On the outskirts of Prague, a major brewery on the river bank was closed as a protective measure – as were several major chemical factories. One of them – Spolana – released toxic chemicals into the Elbe during the devastating floods of 2002.

Authorities said the level of the Vltava in Prague has begun to drop but excess water was expected to soon hit the Elba river, into which it flows downstream.

This year’s spike in water levels has been far less than in 2002 so far, but still forced Prague Zoo to evacuate animals after the lower side of the park was submerged, leaving it once again needing major reconstruction.

Passau, a city built around the intersection of the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz rivers, has been one of the worst hit by the flooding in central Europe.

After hitting the highest level in more than 500 years in Passau on Monday, the floodwaters there had dropped by an estimated 8ft yesterday but cities downstream such as Regensburg were bracing for the water’s arrival.

Peak floodwaters coursing out of the Czech Republic were expected to hit Dresden, capital of the German province of Saxony, along the Elbe in three to four days. Already, the German cities of Pirna and Meissen were reporting flooding in their historic centres.

Cities and towns in the German states of Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia and Brandenburg were also hit with flooding.

Nearly 3,000 people in Southern California were being allowed to return after leaving their homes during a massive wildfire.US Forest Service spokesman Nathan Judy said firefighters had contained 60 per cent of the 50-square-mile wildfire, which started on Thursday, forcing 2,800 people from 700 homes.