Floods triggered by torrential rains in southern Germany have resulted in the deaths of at least four people, underscoring the severe and immediate consequences of extreme weather events. The victims include three individuals discovered in flooded basements on Monday, and a firefighter who perished on Sunday while attempting to rescue trapped residents.

Since the heavy rains began on Friday, thousands of residents in the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have been forced to flee their homes. The devastation has prompted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit the affected areas and issue a stark reminder of the urgent environmental challenges posed by climate change. "We cannot neglect the task of halting man-made climate change," Scholz stated on Monday.

Tragedy struck in Schorndorf, east of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, where the bodies of a man and a woman were found in a basement late on Monday. In Bavaria, one of the worst-hit regions was Manching, approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Munich, where about 800 residents were evacuated following the rupture of a nearby dam.

In Schrobenhausen, further south, the body of a 43-year-old woman was found in a basement on Monday. A volunteer firefighter also lost his life after the inflatable boat he was in capsized. Another volunteer remains missing after his boat overturned during the weekend rescue efforts.

The floods have also severely disrupted local industries, with car manufacturer Audi halting production at its Bavarian plant in Ingolstadt due to flooding from the river Danube.

Bavarian Premier Markus Söder, who accompanied Scholz on his visit, emphasized the unprecedented nature of the events. "Events are happening here that have never happened before," Söder remarked, highlighting the extraordinary and unexpected scale of the disaster.

With around 20,000 people engaged in rescue operations across the state, a state of emergency has been declared to manage the crisis. The German Weather Service has warned of more heavy rain expected in the southern and eastern parts of the country, indicating that the region's ordeal is far from

Source: BBC News