Flood warnings issued across Germany ahead of Christmas

Saxony: Recent heavy rainfall across Germany has increased the risk of flooding in several states, authorities said on Sunday.

The German weather service (DWD) issued warnings for Saxony in the east and Lower Saxony in the northwest, as well as Bavaria in the southeast and Hesse, North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in the west.

It said that the persistent rain will continue until Christmas Day. The DWD added that 100-150 liters of rain per square meter could come down in a period of 48 to 96 hours in some areas.

Germany was also struck by major flooding in June.

The third-highest of four warning levels was reached at 30 measuring stations early on Sunday in Lower Saxony.

The threshold was exceeded in several rivers, including the Weser, Aller, Leine and Oker.

Emergency services secured transformer stations in the Rodenberg district east of Hanover, Germany's DPA news agency reported.

Rodenberg mayor Thomas Wolf said that water was flowing over an anti-flooding barrier and that the municipality had not seen comparable flooding in 25 years.

The eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt's flood forecasting center issued warnings for the Mulde, Aller and Havel rivers.

Alert 3 was reached in parts of the southeastern state of Saxony, including in the city of Chemnitz.

In the Ruhr Valley area, which includes the cities of Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, and Bochum, heavy rain caused disruption on rail lines.

On Saturday, in a flooded suburb of Münster in North-Rhine Westphalia, firefighters rescued a woman who was trapped in her car.