Deadly Floods Sweep Through Bavarian Towns

Alan Taylor
June 2, 2016
20 Photos
In Focus

Heavy rains across parts of Europe this week have caused rivers to overflow and flash floods to inundate small towns in Germany and France. In southern Germany, at least five people are reported to have been killed in several towns hit by flash floods. The floodwaters surged quickly, smashing houses and cars, piling up debris, and forcing some to seek refuge on rooftops. Weather forecasters are warning of more heavy rainfall over the next few days.

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Twisted wood lies piled against a house following heavy floods the day before, on June 2, 2016, in Simbach am Inn, Germany. Flash floods from the swollen Inn river took local communities by surprise, trapping children at schools and forcing some residents to flee to their rooftops. #

Sebastian Widmann / Getty

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A man stands among boulders, smashed trees and cars, and other debris that covers a street in the village center following a furious flash flood the night before on May 30, 2016, in Braunsbach, Germany. The flood tore through Braunsbach, crushing cars, ripping corners of houses, and flooding homes during a storm that hit southwestern Germany. #

Sean Gallup / Getty

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Rubble piled up by floods in the Bavarian village of Simbach am Inn on June 1, 2016. #

Michaela Rehle / Reuters

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A smashed car sits in a meadow of flattened grass following heavy floods the day before, on June 2, 2016, in Triftern, Germany. #

Sebastian Widmann / Getty

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A flooded area in Simbach am Inn, Germany, on June 2, 2016. #

Christof Stache / AFP / Getty

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A man cleans mud from his house in Simbach am Inn on June 2, 2016. #

Christof Stache / AFP / Getty

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Sneakers lie in mud following heavy floods the day before, on June 2, 2016, in Simbach am Inn. #

Sebastian Widmann / Getty

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A dirt-covered passage at the local train station, after the floods in the town of Schwaebisch Gmuend near Stuttgart, Germany, on May 30, 2016. #

Michaela Rehle / Reuters

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A woman removes mud from a house after the floods in the town of Braunsbach, Germany, on May 30, 2016. #

Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

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A child's toy and bits of smashed trees lie wedged into a window in the village center following a furious flash flood the night before, on May 30, 2016, in Braunsbach. #

Sean Gallup / Getty

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A man speaks on the phone as water runs through his garden in the flooded Bavarian village of Triftern, east of Munich, Germany, on June 1, 2016. #

Michaela Rehle / Reuters

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Debris covers a road after flooding in the town of Braunsbach, in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, on May 30, 2016. #

Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

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An inhabitant cleans a street after heavy rains hit Simbach am Inn on June 2, 2016. #

Christof Stache / AFP / Getty

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Cars lie amongst debris following floods in the town of Braunsbach on May 30, 2016. #

Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

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A woman takes pictures of a washed-out road near Simbach am Inn on June 2, 2016, the day after heavy rains. #

Christof Stache / AFP / Getty

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A man looks at the damage caused by the floods in the town of Braunsbach on May 30, 2016. #

Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

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A woman reacts as she looks at the damage in Braunsbach on May 30, 2016. #

Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

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A playground and a pool flooded by mud and water after the small town was hit by flooding, in Simbach am Inn on June 2, 2016. #

Matthias Schrader / AP

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People inspect the damage caused by the floods in Braunsbach on May 30, 2016. #

Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

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A car is squeezed between houses after the small town was hit by flooding in Simbach am Inn on June 2, 2016. #

Matthias Schrader / AP

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