Floods Force Thousands Out Of Their Homes In Germany And Hungary

This was the aerial view near Dunabogdany, 45km (28 miles) west of Budapest, on Sunday.

Some 23,000 people were forced to leave their homes in the east German city of Magdeburg after a dam burst on the flood-swollen River Elbe.

Although water levels in Magdeburg were reported to be receding on Monday, the city and areas of the country further north remain on high alert.

In Hungary, 1,200 people had to leave their homes but flood defences in the capital Budapest appeared to have held.

At least 18 people have died in the floods in Central Europe.

Analysts say the damage will cost billions of euros to clean up.

Meanwhile, parts of Poland's capital Warsaw were flooded on Sunday after hours of heavy rain.

One of the city's busiest motorways was inundated, and firefighters had to help stranded drivers to safety.

Flood defences in Budapest appeared to have held on Monday as waters from the Danube River started to recede, having reached an historic peak of 8.91m (29 ft) on Sunday.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the capital "should be out of danger by Wednesday", but warned that the focus of defence efforts was now in the south of the country.

More than 1,200 people have been evacuated from their homes, although no flood-related deaths have yet been reported in Hungary.

In Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt state, flood waters rose to 7.44m (24ft), nearly four times higher than normal (2m) - forcing some 10% of the population, 23,000, to leave their homes.

Around 700 soldiers worked to build a dam of sandbags around a power sub-station in the badly-hit area of Rothensee in a bid to keep the power on.

But other parts of Saxony-Anhalt and neighbouring Brandenburg state remain under threat as the flood crest moves north, testing flood defences already weakened by days of heavy rain.

A dyke at Fischbeck, west of Berlin, was reported to have breached overnight, forcing the closure of a major train line linking Berlin to Cologne, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

The authorities in Germany are investigating an anonymous letter threatening attacks on several dams.

The motive behind the threats is not known, but the threat is being taken seriously, says the BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin.