It was water level that had never been seen before. The Neisse River on the German-Polish border hit 7.07 meters (23 feet) on Sunday morning in the town of Görlitz, the highest level ever recorded since systematic measurements began almost a century ago. Normal level for the river is a mere 1.7 meters.
And Görlitz was not alone. High waters and flash floods hit large parts of western Czech Republic and Poland along with swaths of eastern Germany over the weekend, killing 11 people and resulted in the collapse of several houses. An additional four people were killed in Lithuania as a result of heavy storms.
On Monday, additional regions in eastern Germany were bracing for the arrival of high flood waters, including the town of Bad Muskau, home to the UNESCO cultural heritage site of Fürst Pückler Park. Other towns in eastern Brandenburg, the German state which surrounds the capital Berlin, were also preparing for high flood waters.
Extremely heavy rains late last week and into the weekend are to blame for the sudden rise in Central European river levels, though the situation was worsened considerably when a dam on the Witka River near the Polish town of Radomierzyce failed, sending a huge flood surge downriver.
More Rains Expected
Five people drowned in the Czech Republic in the towns of Chrastava and Frydlant. Many had to be rescued from the roofs of their homes as raging waters swirled below. In Neukirchen, a town in Germany near Chemnitz, three people were found drowned in their cellar on Saturday. Police believe they were attempting to move some of their belongings upstairs to protect them from the flood waters. Three deaths were reported in Poland.
The Polish town of Bogatynia was particularly hard hit over the weekend, with a bridge having been washed out and both electricity and running water cut off. The high water marks the third time Poland has been hit by severe flooding this year.
Meteorologists warn that further heavy rain showers are to be expected in the coming days. Officials, however, say that the German response to the disaster has so far shown a vast improvement over 2002, when parts of eastern Germany saw catastrophic flooding resulting in 21 deaths.
By Monday, river levels in Görlitz had dropped substantially below their weekend high, but were still well over 5 meters. Officials expect the flooding to continue to subside near the hardest hit areas near the convergence of the Polish, Czech and German borders. Further north, however, residents of towns on the Spree and the Elbe rivers are expecting high water. Levels there are expected to remain well below those of 2002, however.
Officials in Bad Muskau say they are not concerned about major damage to the Fürst Pückler Park. While they anticipate that most of the park will be flooded, steps have been taken to protect the castle on the site.
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The river Neisse, on the border between Poland and Germany, spilled over its banks over the weekend after a dam near the Polish town of Radomierzyce broke sending a wall of water down river. Here, a woman in the German town of Ostritz surveys the damage.
The Neisse river near the town of Görlitz (pictured) was at the highest level ever recorded in the almost 100 years of systematic measurements. Normally, the river is measured at 1.7 meters (5.5 feet). Over the weekend it hit 7.07 meters (23 feet).
The swollen Neisse River rampaged through the old town center of Görlitz. Other towns further upriver in Poland and in the Czech Republic were hit even harder.
The St. Marienthal Abbey near Ostritz was also partially under water on Sunday. Eleven people died in flooding over the weekend, with three having lost their lives in Germany.
The German Red Cross was out in force over the weekend, as here in Ostritz. Officials say the response was much more professional than during the catastrophic floods in 2002 which killed 21 people in Germany.
High water threatens houses on the banks of the Neisse in Ostritz.
This hotel in Ostritz is called the "Neisse View." On Sunday, the river flowed into the lobby.
Record rainfall triggered the weekend flooding. More rain was forecast for early this week, though flood levels have already begun receding in many towns that were hardest hit. Here, a cycling path along the German side of the Neisse River.
An image from the Polish town of Zgorzelec, across the river from Görlitz. A local political leader and his driver both managed to escape the rapidly climbing waters by climbing a tree.
Other rivers in Germany have also risen in recent days, including the Elbe, pictured here as it flows through Dresden.
Emergency response personnel had their hands full across Central Europe over the weekend. Here, fire fighters rescue a man from his house in the center of Görlitz on Saturday night.
Several people were evacuated from central Görlitz on Saturday night and had to spend the night in a local gymnasium.
Some towns in Poland, Czech Republic and Germany had mere hours to prepare for the rapidly climbing waters once the Polish dam gave way. Here, the Neisse River in Görlitz.
A fire truck fighting its way through the flood waters in the town of Klaffenbach near Chemnitz.
Several houses were trapped by the raging waters as rivers burst their banks. Here, a house near Chemnitz.
A cameraman films the basement of a house in the town of Neukirchen, near Chemnitz, where three people died. Police believe they were trying to remove belongings from the cellar to protect them from the flood waters.
Thousands of people were evacuated from towns in Czech Republic. Here, a house in the Czech village of Chrastava which was heavily damaged by the flood waters.
The town of Chrastava was heavily damaged by the rampaging waters.
Here, a lignite mine near the western Polish town of Bogatynia is flooded by the Miedzianka River on Saturday.