Flooding across Germany after night of heavy rainfall

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

BERLIN -- Storms 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 Wednesday that they had to rescue several drivers whose vehicles had become stuck in a flooded underpass. 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 Tuesday as basements filled with water, trees were uprooted and some areas lost power overnight. Germany's DWD weather service said the region saw 80 liters (more than 21 gallons) of rain per square meter 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 liters per square meter.