Europe under water

An aerial view of flooded Meissen, Germany, June 9, 2013. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in a region of eastern Germany where the Elbe river has burst through a dam, officials said Sunday.

More than 20 people have been killed by a week of flooding in central Europe, as rivers such as the Danube, the Elbe and the Vlatava have overflowed after heavy rains and caused extensive damage in central and southern Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.

Read more: Swollen Elbe river breaches new levee in Germany

Helpers and policemen stack furniture, appliances and other household items ruined by recent flooding from the nearby Danube river in Deggendorf, Germany, June 10, 2013.

Evacuated residents wait in a shelter in Eggersdorf, Germany, June 8, 2013.

Soldiers of the German Federal Armed Forces Bundeswehr drive an amphibious tank in an area flooded by the Elbe river in Magdeburg, Germany, June 10, 2013.

Residents carry furniture, appliances and other household items ruined by recent flooding from the nearby Danube river in Deggendorf, Germany, June 10, 2013.

German army soldiers work at a dike in Magdeburg, Germany, June 9, 2013.

A helper stands in a bedroom ruined by recent flooding and shows the maximum height of the water from the nearby Danube river in Deggendorf, Germany, June 10, 2013.

Members of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, THW, check a wall of sandbags in an area flooded by the Elbe river in Magdeburg, Germany, June 10, 2013.

Water leaks through a sandbag dike in Wittenberge, Germany, June 9, 2013.

A helper controls a wall erected to protect a restaurant from Elbe floodwater in Lauenburg, Germany, June 10, 2013.

A helper pulls out a destroyed BMW Isetta while a home owner looks over damages in his private garage ruined by recent flooding from the nearby Danube river in Deggendorf, Germany, June 10, 2013.

Firefighters stand behind a dike made of sandbags in Lauenburg, Germany, June 10, 2013.

Firefighters and helpers evacuate inhabitants in the flooded city center of Grimma, Germany, June 3, 2013.

Heavy rains are pounding southern and eastern Germany, causing widespread flooding and ruining crops. At least two people are missing and feared dead in what is evolving into the most serious flood levels since the so-called 100-year flood of 2002.

The roof of a house is visible in the floods of the Elbe river near Meissen, eastern Germany, June 5, 2013. Heavy rainfalls caused flooding in parts of Germany, Austria and Czech Republic.

Containers stand in the floodwater of the River Elbe at a container terminal in Riesa, Germany, June 5, 2013.

Passau, Germany is flooded by the rising river Danube, June 3, 2013.

Heavy rains across portions of Germany are causing flooding and ruining crops.

An Aerial view of the swollen Vltava river that has flooded Mirejovice village about 21.7 miles north of Prague, Czech Republic, June 3, 2013.

Heavy rainfalls cause flooding along rivers and lakes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Helpers walk on the top of a dyke to strengthen it against the rising Gera river and to prevent flooding near Soemmerda, Germany, June 1, 2013.

The rivers Inn and Danube flood the old city of Passau, southern Germany, June 3, 2013.

A mannequin floats in the flooded center of Grimma, Germany, June 3, 2013.

A quad biker drives on a flooded street along lake Lauerzersee, in Lauerz, Switzerland, June 2, 2013.

Spectators look at the flooded old city of Passau, southern Germany, June 3, 2013.

A young man helps to evacuate citizens with his canoe in the historic city center of Passau, Germany, June 3, 2013.

A view of downtown Passau, Germany, flooded by the rising river Danube, June 3, 2013.

Water fills the flooded city center of Grimma, Germany, June 3, 2013.

Firefighters and helpers evacuate inhabitants in the flooded city center of Grimma, Germany, June 3, 2013.

Rescue workers evacuate residents in Grimma,

Aerial view of the flooded village of Kolbermoor, southern Germany, June 3, 2013.

Aerial view of the swollen Vltava river's flooded Red Mill at chateau park in Veltrusy, 21.7 miles north of Prague, Czech Republic, June 3, 2013.

Water fills the flooded city center of Grimma, Germany, June 3, 2013.

The Vltava river in seen in Prague. The Czech capital was under water, with metro stations and elementary and secondary schools shut as the river rose, flooding parts of the historic city center, June 3, 2013.

Firefighters secure a car in a flooded area of Kritzendorf, Austria after five days of heavy rainfall, June 3, 2013.

Rescue workers use a boat to navigate the flooded old city of Passau, southern Germany, June 3, 2013.

A man paddles through a flooded street in Passau, southern Germany, June 3, 2013.

Overflow from the Danube river floods a harbor and shopping center in Bratislava, Slovakia, June 3, 2013.

Water fills the flooded marketplace in the center of Grimma, Germany, June 3, 2013.

Firefighters pump water into the flooded river Lofer in the Austrian province of Salzburg, June 2, 2013.

An aerial view of the flooded landscape near Grabenstaett am Chiemsee, southern Germany, June 3, 2013.