At least 20 people have been killed in Germany which is battered by heavy rain and floods. Dozens of people are missing after heavy flooding turned streams and streets into raging torrents, sweeping away cars and causing some buildings to collapse
Unusually heavy rain caused the Ahr river to burst its bank south of Bonn.
Heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms brought traffic to a halt, toppled trees and overflowed basements on Wednesday. Thousands of households are reported to be without power.
Rail connections were suspended in large parts of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany's most populous state.
The police in badly affected states have set up a hotline where people can report missing residents and relatives.
Rescue operations were hampered by the fact that phone and internet connections were down in several regions of the country.