Heavy rains across parts of Europe this week have caused rivers to overflow and flash floods to inundate small towns in Germany and France at least five people are reported to have been killed in several towns hit by flash floods and forcing some to seek refuge on rooftops Weather forecasters are warning of more  heavy rainfall over the next few days We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com A collection of winning and honored images from this year’s nature-photo competition A collection of amazing recent images made with the Hubble Space Telescope Mourners of Pope Francis gathered at the Vatican scenes from the the second weekend of Coachella 2025 and landscapes of the Earth’s arctic and subarctic regions Dear Reader,Unfortunately our comment platform isn\'t available at the moment due to issues with our paywall and authentication vendor Rivers in Europe have burst their banks from Paris to the southern German state of Bavaria trapping thousands more in homes or cars and forcing everything from subway lines to castles to the Louvre to shut down PARIS - Rivers in Europe have burst their banks from Paris to the southern German state of Bavaria French authorities were especially concerned about the rising waters of the Seine River which winds through Paris and was expected to peak Friday Paris police upgraded their flood warning to "orange" - the second-highest level - for areas in the French capital near the Seine which has already overflowed its banks in many places The warning means floods could have "a significant impact" on buildings and people The Louvre Museum in Paris says it will be closed Friday to remove artworks from rooms threatened by rising waters from the Seine and preventatively shift them upstairs Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," is staying put on an upper floor will also be closed Friday to prepare for potential flooding Tourist boat cruises in Paris have been cancelled and roads in and around the capital are under water A suburban train line that runs alongside the Seine in central Paris serving popular tourist sites like the Eiffel Tower was shut down but other subway lines were running normally Days of heavy rains have caused exceptional delays to the French Open tennis tournament and may force it into a third week France's meteorological service said Thursday that severe flood watches remained in effect in one Paris-area region: Seine-et-Marne 44-year-old Australian tourist visiting Paris said she was "very surprised" to see the Seine so high "I remember walking down below (before) and it was very easy," she said emergency workers evacuated residents in Nemours were facing water levels unseen since 1910 when a massive flood swamped the French capital The situation improved somewhat late Thursday yet about 21,000 homes were still without electricity the renowned castles of Chambord and Azay-le-Rideau were closed because of floods in their parks The rains that have fallen across Western Europe this week have already killed six people including an 86-year-old woman who died in her flooded home in Souppes-sur-Loing five people were killed as floods swept through the towns of Simbach am Inn and Triftern near the Austrian border French President Francois Hollande said a "natural disaster" will be formally declared next week for areas most affected by the flooding - and a separate fund will help villages and small towns deal with the damages telling reporters Thursday that she "mourns for those for whom the help has come too late The floodwaters in Bavaria receded somewhat and disaster relief crews were helping to clear the wreckage Belgium endured a fourth day of heavy rain After widespread flooding hit northern Antwerp and the west of Flanders early in the week waters kept rising in eastern areas around Limburg and Liege Several neighborhoods have had to be evacuated as cellars flooded and streets were submerged A major train line linking Limburg to the Belgian capital of Brussels was temporarily suspended Thursday David Rising in Berlin and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report Germany has declared a second disaster area after heavy rain caused more flooding devastating the towns of Triftern and Simbach am Inn in southern Bavaria At least four people have been killed in the floods Firemen found three women in the basement of a flooded house in the town of Simbach am Inn and emergency services found a drowned woman hanging over a tree trunk in a stream in the nearby village of Julbach adding that her house had apparently collapsed A resident of Simbach am Inn told Reuters: "The water came so fast it was up at the first floor within five minutes We saved ourselves by going into the attic and attached red cloths to a broom-handle and waved out of the window for people to come and get us and after about three hours my grandson climbed on to the roof and the helicopter then reacted." At least two people are missing in the district of Rottal-Inn "We're expecting the worst," police spokesman Michael Emmer said adding divers were searching for those missing Weather forecasters said more rain was expected in the region on Thursday (2 June) Earlier this week, three people were killed in floods in the south-western German state of Baden-Wurttemberg and a young girl was killed by a train as she took shelter from the rain under a railway bridge Floods have also devastated regions across France — in some areas travellers trapped on a submerged highway had to be rescued by soldiers Meteorologists said more bad news is coming — the waters are expected to keep rising for days Karl Hollmayr hat sich einen Spruch ins Erdgeschoss gehängt Als zuletzt im niederbayerischen Triftern in atemberaubendem Tempo das Wasser kam blieben die gerahmten Worte nicht mehr als ein frommer Wunsch: "Gott beschütze dieses Haus und alle Der Rahmen ist noch an seinem Platz geblieben. Aber sonst ist in dem rund hundert Jahre alten Haus, in dem schon Hollmayrs Vater aufwuchs, kaum mehr etwas dort, wo es hingehört. Das Mobiliar aus dem Erdgeschoss: ein Fall für den Sperrmüll. Reservisten der Bundeswehr werfen Bretter aus den aufgesperrten Fenstern Hochwasser in Niederbayern: Zerstörung und Schlammmassen in Triftern Welche Verwüstung die Katastrophe hinterließ wird in Triftern jetzt allmählich sichtbar nachdem das Wasser weitgehend abgelaufen oder abgepumpt ist Nicht nur viele Straßen sind von einer dicken Schlammschicht überzogen An vielen Ecken des Ortes wurden inzwischen Container aufgestellt In ihnen türmen sich die zu schmierigen Klumpen geformten Habseligkeiten der Hochwasseropfer Mit schwerem Gerät fahren Helfer durch den Ort kaputte Regale und Schränke zu einem Platz der Dreck ist ihm bei den Aufräumarbeiten ins Gesicht gespritzt Mit den Schuhen steht er in der braunen Brühe die immer noch zentimeterhoch durch manche Zimmer schwappt als er das Ausmaß des Hochwassers überblickt habe aber die Einsatzkräfte ließen ihn aus Sicherheitsgründen vorerst nicht in das Haus 1991 habe sich das Hochwasser schon einmal seinen Weg nach Triftern gebahnt Damals sei es aber viel glimpflicher ausgegangen Dieses Mal kam das Wasser mit nie dagewesener Wucht: "Da kannst du nichts machen" Die Aufräumarbeiten in seinem Erdgeschoss gleichen einem Abrisskommando: Die völlig durchnässte Küchenarbeitsplatte bricht Hollmayr weg die Räume möglichst schnell leer zu bekommen Umso größer scheint jetzt bei den Helfern und Bürgern in Triftern der Wille zum Wiederaufbau zu sein sagt ein Mitglied der Freiwilligen Feuerwehr die entsetzt sind angesichts der Zerstörung und für einen Moment resignieren: "Die Hütte kann man abreißen" sagt ein junger Mann verzweifelt - und packt kurz danach dann doch wieder mit in dem Haus seiner Mutter an Und dann sind da Menschen wie Sabine Engelmann Pech und Glück zugleich gehabt zu haben und bei denen der Schock noch tief sitzt: Die 46-Jährige war allein mit ihrem Hund zu Hause "Innerhalb von wenigen Minuten stand es da" Sie flüchtete samt Hund auf den Balkon im ersten Stock und alarmierte per Handy die Feuerwehr "Ich hatte Angst um mein Leben." Die Retter kamen per Boot Erst vor ein paar Monaten ist Engelmann mit ihrem Mann aus der Nähe von Osnabrück hierher gezogen. "Bayern war schon immer ein Traum von uns" Zusammen mit ihrem Mann genoss Engelmann die ersten Wochen in der neuen Heimat: den Blick Richtung Wald Für die Aufräum- und Instandsetzungsarbeiten in Triftern veranschlagen die Helfer noch mehrere Tage Die Aufarbeitung in den Köpfen vieler Hochwasseropfer wird dagegen noch länger dauern In Triftern und anderen vom Hochwasser betroffenen Orten sind bereits Seelsorger unterwegs: "Wir sprechen die Leute an" andere würden die Seelsorger in ihre Häuser und Wohnungen holen Die Seelsorge würde im Krisengebiet noch einige Zeit gebraucht In Triftern sind glücklicherweise keine Todesopfer zu beklagen. In den nicht weit entfernten Orten Simbach am Inn und Jubach wurden inzwischen schon sechs Leichen geborgen  Landkreis Rottal-Inn: Der Ort in Bayern ist nach heftigen Regenfällen überflutet worden Sie schaufelt mit einer Schneeschippe den Schlamm von ihrer Hofeinfahrt Ein Mann geht mit einer Schubkarre durch Trifterns verwüsteten Ortskern Die Kirche von Triftern im Ortskern: Die Überschwemmungen in der Umgebung sind deutlich zu sehen die Karosserie verbogen und zerquetscht: Das Wasser hat aus diesem Auto in Triftern einen Schrotthaufen gemacht Durch Triftern fließt der Altbach - normalerweise zahm und friedlich Nach tagelangen starken Regenfällen spitzte sich die Lage dann aber dramatisch zu die Möbel ein Fall für den Sperrmüll: Verwüstung im Haus von Karl Hollmayr aus Triftern alles verdreckt: Es wird lange Zeit dauern Vom Wasser weggespült: Ein Wohnwagen in Triftern hängt schief an einer Wand fest Auch in anderen Orten ist die Lage ähnlich Hier machen Helfer und Hochwasseropfer in Anzenkirchen eine Pause Ein Mann betrachtet die Hochwasserschäden in Simbach am Inn: Insgesamt kamen in Bayern mindestens sechs Menschen im Hochwasser ums Leben Bis dieses Geschäft in Simbach am Inn wieder eröffnet werden kann Bayerns Regierung sicherte schnelle Unterstützung zu Der Freistaat zahlt pro betroffenem Haushalt 1500 Euro Soforthilfe Paris has shut down its underground metro line as water levels in the river Seine keep rising following days of rain Staff at the Louvre museum have been told the venue will close tomorrow killing five people as rivers broke their banks from Paris to Bavaria More rain is forecast for the coming days in some regions and authorities in Paris predict the Seine River will not reach its peak until tomorrow Tourist boat cruises have been cancelled and several roads in and around the capital are under water further disrupting travel on top of train strikes this week Days of heavy rains have caused exceptional delays to the French Open tennis tournament in Paris and may force it into a third week The rain that has fallen across Western Europe this week has already killed five people four people have been confirmed killed in the flooding which swept through the towns of Simbach am Inn and Triftern near the Austrian border has promised quick financial help to residents in areas near the Austrian border hit by flooding this week According to comments carried by the dpa news agency has pledged "quick and unbureaucratic help" and that his state "won't abandon those affected and disaster relief crews are on the scene helping to clear the wreckage while helping to prepare for more possible flooding the respite may be short-lived as there are warnings of more storms authorities say that areas along the Loing River had seen waters rise to levels unseen since 1910 emergency workers evacuated residents of the town of Nemours In the southern Paris suburb of Longjumeau firefighters drove in a Land Rover through flooded streets telling trapped residents to wait for help shops were closed and shopkeepers tried to sweep water out of their shops France's meteorological service said severe flood watches are in effect in two regions in the Paris area: Loiret and Seine-et-Marne Belgium also endured a fourth day of heavy rain with flooding reported in several areas across the country Several neighbourhoods have had to be evacuated as cellars flooded and streets were submerged in overflowing creeks and rivers One major train line linking eastern Limburg to the capital had to be temporarily suspended No deaths or injuries have been reported so far in Belgium please register for free or log in to your account Post Courier Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox!