Floods begin to subside

BONN - The floods in west Germany as well as the Netherlands, France and Belgium caused damage totalling hundreds of millions of pounds over the past week, but the worst seemed to be over for most regions yesterday with water levels falling, AFP reports. At least half a dozen deaths were reported.

In France, traffic continued to be disrupted in many north-eastern regions. About 2,000 people have been evacuated north of Paris where the Oise river continued to rise. Black ice and snow also caused traffic problems in eastern France.

In western Ukraine, 90,000 people were hit by floods, with damage in 139 villages. In Greece, torrential rains caused flooding near Athens and the homes of more than 150 families were destroyed. Mountainous areas in north-west Greece were cut off from the rest of the country after heavy snowfalls.