Rains, melting snow causing flooding in Germany

BERLIN — A tiny community in western Germany was cut off Wednesday by the flooded Rhine River, while authorities cautioned that continued rain and melting snow could cause further problems in many regions.

In Rees-Grietherort, the rising waters of the Rhine flooded the only access road to the community located between it and a smaller river, effectively cutting off the 100 residents, the dpa news agency reported.

Due to its location, local authorities said the residents are relatively used to such inconveniences and officials employed a small fire department boat to ferry people in and out three times a day.

The German Weather Service was warning that conditions were not likely to improve in many places until the weekend.

Already, shipping traffic on the Rhine in the Cologne area has been stopped, even though the crest of the river has not quite reached the height where boats can no longer safely pass under bridges, authorities said.

There were also flood warnings for multiple other rivers, primarily in western and southern Germany.