4 Dead in Floods in Germany

The death toll from the severe flooding in southern Germany has risen to four, as heavy rains continue to inundate the region.

Authorities recovered three bodies from flooded basements on Monday, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz visiting the affected areas to assess the damage and offer support.

In the Bavarian town of Schrobenhausen, police discovered the body of a 43-year-old woman in a basement after an intensive search that began Sunday morning.

In nearby Pfaffenhofen, a firefighter tragically lost his life when the inflatable boat he was using with colleagues capsized.

Later on Monday, police reported finding the bodies of a man and a woman in a flooded basement in Schorndorf, near Stuttgart, which had subsequently been pumped dry.

The weekend's persistent heavy rainfall led to widespread flooding in the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg, causing significant transport disruptions. Long-distance rail routes to Munich from the north and west were out of service on Monday.

Scholz visited Reichertshofen, north of Munich, where he inspected a sandbagged riverbank and met with regional officials, including Bavaria's governor,

Markus Söder. Scholz emphasized the urgency of addressing climate change, stating that the increasing frequency of such devastating events underscores the necessity of taking action.

Governor Söder described the situation as "critical and tense," with water levels receding in some areas but new flooding and evacuations occurring elsewhere.

He warned that water levels are expected to rise in the city of Regensburg and further down the Danube River, exacerbating the crisis.