Floods, hailstones cause havoc across Germany

Heavy rains caused havoc across Germany on Friday, with flooding reported in numerous regions.

A major storm in the southern German state of Bavaria left roads and cellars flooded, with fallen trees causing disruptions.

According to a police spokesman in the city of Kempten, south-west of Munich, roads were turned white by hailstones, with around 320 operations reported by emergency services between 6 pm (1600 GMT) and midnight.

Most affected were the Allgäu region and the Lindau district, near Lake Constance and the border to Austria. Follow-up operations, including pumping out cellars, continued into the night.

Another 230 operations were recorded by the police station in the city of Rosenheim, further east. Emergency services responded to flooded cellars and trees that had fallen onto roads and sometimes onto tracks. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, heavy rain in parts of the northern state of Lower Saxony caused further disruption, flooding cellars and streets.

Emergency services in the County of Bentheim near the Dutch border were particularly busy on Friday, with more than 100 incidents recorded in the town of Nordhorn.

Flooding caused the emergency room of a hospital to close temporarily, while overflowing reservoirs led to further damage in residential areas. Several roads were closed at times, with around 200 firefighters called up to respond to the flooding.

Further south, strong winds caused damage amounting to €130,000 ($142,000) to several residential buildings - including a retirement home - in town of Dissen located in a forest near the city of Osnabrück.

The German Weather Service expects isolated thunderstorms to bring further heavy rain to Lower Saxony on Saturday and Sunday, particularly in coastal areas.