Severe floods triggered by heavy rainfall have claimed five lives and left one firefighter missing in the German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Authorities recovered three bodies in Bavaria and two in Baden-Württemberg.
In the historic city of Passau, water levels approached 10 meters, marking the highest levels in over a decade. Cargo transportation on the Rhine River was halted in parts of southern Germany, and a state of emergency was declared in the Rosenheim region of Bavaria.
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder described the situation as “serious and critical.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized the urgency of addressing climate change, noting that the disaster serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by human-induced climate change.