Flooding in Europe after heavy rainfall

Storms have caused heavy flooding across parts of western and central Europe, with one man missing after being swept away by a raging stream in eastern Germany.

Firefighters resumed their search for the man in Joehstadt, in Saxony state, on Wednesday morning. German news agency DPA reported that he had been trying to secure his property from rising waters when he disappeared.

Hof county near the eastern border with the Czech Republic issued a disaster alert late on Tuesday as basements filled with water, trees were uprooted and some areas lost power.

Germany's DWD weather service said the region saw 80 litres of rain per square metre in the space of 12 hours.

In Hagen, firefighters had to rescue several drivers whose vehicles had become stuck in a flooded underpass. Videos on social media showed streets in the western city knee-deep in water and others buried by landslides.

The neighbouring Netherlands and Belgium were also hit by flooding.

Dutch media showed people being rescued Tuesday from a historic mill that was partially submerged under floodwaters estimated at 1.5 metres deep.

It is unusual for the rivers to overflow in the summer. It more often happens in the spring when rivers such as the Rhine and the Maas rise due to melting snow in European hills and mountains.

DWD meteorologists predicted further "extreme storms" in the western and central parts of Germany through Thursday.