Floods wreaked havoc across central and eastern Europe today, with the Austrian city of Salzburg declared a disaster area and a state of emergency in Prague as heavy rains swept the region.
The extreme weather claimed at least a dozen victims across Europe, days after flash floods left at least 58 dead on Russia's Black Sea coast.
The floods claimed at least two lives in Austria.
Two men were killed and a fireman was feared drowned after being swept away near Salzburg as Austria's worst flooding in decades brought chaos to swathes of the Alpine country.
A man was found dead in a flooded cellar in Hallein, near Salzburg while a fireman was reported missing after falling into a swollen river near Mariapfarr in the same region.
The Czech government declared an emergency in the capital, southern and central Bohemia, and two regions in western Bohemia as massive flooding sparked by torrential rain threatened residents across the country.
Prague rescue services were on high alert with water levels on the Vltava river Monday approaching 3.5 meters above normal.
Fear spread as the Salzach river that cuts through Salzburg swelled to critical levels and continued to rise rapidly, causing the closure of the dozens of bridges.
In Switzerland, activity in the river port of Basel ground to a halt after heavy rains swelled the Rhine river, forcing the closure of a section linking France and Switzerland.
AFP