Heavy rain, melting snow produce floods in western Germany
Posted January 05, 2018 6:00 am
BERLIN (AP) - Rivers swollen by days of rainfall and melting snow are rising in western Germany, with floodwaters spilling into some cities and towns.
The dpa news agency reported that shipping was suspended Friday on the upper reaches of the Rhine River, and a similar measure might be taken in the Cologne area over the weekend. Shipping on the Moselle River and the Neckar River, two of the Rhine's tributaries, had already been halted.
A road in downtown Heidelberg was closed on Friday after the Neckar spilled over its banks.
In St. Blasien in Germany's Black Forest, houses were evacuated on Thursday night because of flooding and a landslide. Most of the roughly 150 residents affected were later able to return to their homes.
A bridge is illuminated by the morning light Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 at the lake Chiemsee in Seeon-Seebruck, southern Germany. (Matthias Balk/dpa via AP)
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A landing stage is flooded at river Moselle in Bernkastel-Kues, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018. German news agency dpa reported Thursday that the Moselle river was closed to all shipping, with water levels 4 meters (13 feet) higher than usual after heavy rainfalls. (Harald Tittel/dpa via AP)
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Swans swim in a flooded street near river Rhine, in Leutesdorf, western Germany, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018. Heavy rainfall in recent days has increased the risk of flooding in western Germany. German news agency dpa reported Thursday that the Moselle river was closed to all shipping, with water levels 4 meters (13 feet) higher than usual. Along the lower reaches of the Rhine, water levels were predicted to continue to rise until Friday. (Thomas Frey/dpa via AP)
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A woman fights herself through a heavy storm on top of the Feldberg mountain near Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
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A wind power facility lies on a field after it collapsed during storm 'Burglind' in Volksdorf near Hannover, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 3 2018. After parts of the rotor had broken, the tower of the roughly 70 meter tall wind wheel collapsed. Nobody was injured in the accident. (Holger Hollemann/dpa via AP)
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