Christmas washout in German villages as heavy rains cause rivers to burst their banks

Residents were evacuated from their homes in parts of Germany on Christmas Day (25 December) as heavy rains and soaked ground led to flooding and high waters.

Areas in the regions of Thuringia and Lower Saxony were particularly badly affected.

Footage from the village of Windehausen, in Thuringia, showed homes, fields and streets submerged in floodwaters while people forced to leave their homes were being cared for at an emergency shelter.

Heavy rains have also swollen rivers in eastern Belgium in recent days, where authorities have issued warnings for the Our River, which marks the border with Germany.