BERLIN (AP) — The death toll from flooding in much of southern Germany rose to two Monday as the body of a missing woman was found. Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the flooded area and officials warned that water levels could rise further in some areas.
The body of the 43-year-old, who rescuers had been searching for since Sunday morning, was found in a cellar in the Bavarian town of Schrobenhausen, police told German news agency DPA. A firefighter was found dead on Sunday in nearby Pfaffenhofen after an inflatable boat he and his colleagues were using capsized.
Persistent heavy rain led to widespread flooding in the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg this weekend. The floods caused major transport disruptions, with long-distance rail lines into Munich from the north and west being out of action on Monday.
Scholz visited Reichertshofen, north of Munich, inspecting a sandbagged riverbank and meeting with regional officials, including Markus Söder, the governor of Bavaria.
Söder said the situation “remains critical and tense,” with water receding in some places but new flooding and evacuations elsewhere. He noted that water levels are expected to rise in the city of Regensburg and further along the Danube.
Scholz said that “this is not just one event as has happened for centuries,” and that a succession of floods in recent times shows that “we cannot ignore the task of halting human-induced climate change. ”
