Heavy rain leads to flooding in parts of Germany

BERLIN – Heavy rain in Germany has led to flooding in some areas, with people in one northern city piling sand bags in front of their homes to protect themselves against a swollen river.

Streets were flooded and basements had to be pumped dry of water in the mountainous Harz region on Wednesday, and two stretches of local railway lines were closed. In nearby Hildesheim, people stacked sand bags along the banks of the swelling Innerste river.

The German news agency dpa reported that the local fire department in Hildesheim was ready to evacuate more than 1,000 inhabitants from a neighbourhood threatened by the flooding.