"In southern Germany, dams have burst after days of heavy rainfall, flooding towns and forcing thousands to evacuate. Are floods becoming more severe, and how can Germans better prepare?"

"Communities across southern Germany have been forced to evacuate, and many have issued states of emergency as severe flooding hit the region this weekend.

It follows days of unrelenting rainfall: Initial assessments suggest some places experienced more in 24 hours than the average for an entire month. Numerous streams and rivers have burst their banks, flooding entire towns and villages, with the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg particularly impacted.

It comes three years after a catastrophic flood around the Ahr Valley in the west of the country claimed over 180 lives and caused billions of euros of damage."

Holly Young reports for DW June 3, 2024. [2]