In deep water

In deep water

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A bright blue swimming pool stands out amid murky floodwater from the River Elbe, which swamped this garden near the German city of Magdeburg during floods that swept through a huge area of Europe.

The deluge forced thousands of people to flee their homes in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary and caused billions of dollars of damage.

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Map

A man inspects a sandbag wall near the River Elbe in the eastern German town of Schoenebeck.
. SCHOENEBECK, Germany. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz

A man inspects a sandbag wall near the River Elbe in the eastern German town of Schoenebeck.

Flooded railway tracks are pictured near the River Elbe in the eastern German town of Schoenebeck.
. SCHOENEBECK, Germany. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz

Flooded railway tracks are pictured near the River Elbe in the eastern German town of Schoenebeck.

A dead deer hangs on a fence along the flooded A3 motorway near Deggendorf.
. DEGGENDORF, Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

A dead deer hangs on a fence along the flooded A3 motorway near Deggendorf.

A car drives away from a small settlement flooded by the River Danube near Deggendorf.
. DEGGENDORF, Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

A car drives away from a small settlement flooded by the River Danube near Deggendorf.

Volunteers relax on a wall of sandbags put up to contain damage caused by flooding in Dresden.
. DRESDEN, Germany. Reuters/Thomas Peter

Volunteers relax on a wall of sandbags put up to contain damage caused by flooding in Dresden.

Two men paddle their boat into the entrance of a flooded house.
. WEHLEN, Germany. Reuters/Thomas Peter

Two men paddle their boat into the entrance of a flooded house.

A brand new Jaguar F-Type convertible stands in a showroom covered with a thin film of mud following the deluge.
. DEGGENDORF, Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

A brand new Jaguar F-Type convertible stands in a showroom covered with a thin film of mud following the deluge.

The statue of world harmony leader Sri Chinmoy is partially submerged by the rising Vltava River.
. PRAGUE, Czech Republic. REUTERS/David W Cerny

The statue of world harmony leader Sri Chinmoy is partially submerged by the rising Vltava River.

A man checks the water level of the swollen Vltava River.
. PRAGUE, Czech Republic. REUTERS/David W Cerny

A man checks the water level of the swollen Vltava River.

Firemen pump water out of a flooded field near the city of Melnik.
. Melnik, Czech Republic. REUTERS/Petr Josek

Firemen pump water out of a flooded field near the city of Melnik.

People walk over Radobyl Hill to look at an area flooded by the swollen Labe (Elbe) River.
. Litomerice, Czech Republic. REUTERS/Petr Josek

People walk over Radobyl Hill to look at an area flooded by the swollen Labe (Elbe) River.

A girl from the village of Mlekojedy stands with her dog in front of the flooded road to her home.
. Litomerice, Czech Republic. REUTERS/Petr Josek

A girl from the village of Mlekojedy stands with her dog in front of the flooded road to her home.

Firefighters evacuate a woman from her house in the southern Bohemian village of Nemcicky.
. Nemcicky, Czech Republic. REUTERS/Petr Josek

Firefighters evacuate a woman from her house in the southern Bohemian village of Nemcicky.

Vaclav Reichl dries out his family photographs, which he saved from his flooded home, in the southern Bohemian town of Putim.
. Putim, Czech Republic. REUTERS/Petr Josek

Vaclav Reichl dries out his family photographs, which he saved from his flooded home, in the southern Bohemian town of Putim.

The door of a house is almost totally submerged in the village of Lounky.
. LOUNKY, Czech Republic. REUTERS/David W Cerny

The door of a house is almost totally submerged in the village of Lounky.

Waters overflow from the River Danube in Bratislava.
. BRATISLAVA, Slovakia. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa

Waters overflow from the River Danube in Bratislava.

A man in a boat floats along a street flooded by the River Danube in Klosterneuburg.
. KLOSTERNEUBURG, Austria. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader

A man in a boat floats along a street flooded by the River Danube in Klosterneuburg.

Gravestones are partially submerged by flood water at a cemetery in Schaerding, Upper Austria.
. SCHAERDING, Austria. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

Gravestones are partially submerged by flood water at a cemetery in Schaerding, Upper Austria.

A church stands partially underwater in Marbach.
. MARBACH, Austria. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader

A church stands partially underwater in Marbach.

A priest leaves a church with sandbags arranged around the entrance in Budapest.
. BUDAPEST, Hungary. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

A priest leaves a church with sandbags arranged around the entrance in Budapest.

A ticket booth for cruise ships stands mostly underwater along the banks of the flooding River Danube.
. BUDAPEST, Hungary. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

A ticket booth for cruise ships stands mostly underwater along the banks of the flooding River Danube.

Houses near the Hungarian town of Nagymaros are surrounded by floodwater from the River Danube.
. NAGYMAROS, Hungary. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

Houses near the Hungarian town of Nagymaros are surrounded by floodwater from the River Danube.

Before & After

Before
. BUDAPEST, Hungary. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh
After
. BUDAPEST, Hungary. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

Before: A man sweeps steps by the banks of the River Danube before it flooded in Budapest.
After: A few days later, the riverbank is completely submerged.

Before & After

Before
. PRAGUE, Czech Republic. REUTERS/David W Cerny
After
. PRAGUE, Czech Republic. REUTERS/David W Cerny

Before: People walk along the edge of the swollen Vltava River in Prague.
After: Twenty-four hours later, the same area is underwater.

Before & After

Before
. NIEDERALTEICH, Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
After
. NIEDERALTEICH, Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Before: Water floods a soccer field south of the Bavarian city of Deggendorf.
After: The same field is seen after the deluge receded.