Soldiers dropped large sandbags from helicopters in Germany Tuesday in an effort to stem torrential flooding in northern Germany after the Elbe River burst through flood defenses there.
 

CNN reported that thousands of people were evacuated from their homes after brown water flooded out from broken dikes in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, where at least three people are known to have died as a result of the flooding.

The flow of water pouring through a 55-foot hole in flood defenses was slowing, and water levels have dropped slightly across the state, Saxony-Anhalt interior Minister Holger Stahlknecht said Tuesday.

Approximately 4,000 German soldiers have been deployed in that state, with some helping drop massive sandbags from the air, according to CNN.

In Lower Saxony, authorities said dikes were holding. No deaths have been reported in that state.

The surging Elbe, which last week brought severe flooding to the state of Saxony, continued winding its way towards the North Sea.  The town of Lauenberg in Schleswig-Holstein was evacuated as a precaution in the wake of forecasts that the river will peak there on Thursday.

Meanwhile, in southern Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, flood cleanup efforts continued after 10 days of flooding from the Elbe and Danube Rivers — the worst flooding seen in Europe in more than a decade.

In the Czech Republic, where 11 people have died as a result of the flooding, heavy rain on Monday complicated recovery efforts, according to Czech forest service spokeswoman Nicole Zaoralova. She said recovery efforts were focused on draining flood waters.   

River levels have dropped in Austria, but the Danube — a vital transit route for passengers and freight — remained closed to river traffic.

In Hungary, the Danube’s crest reached a record high in Budapest late Sunday, but the capital’s flood defenses held and water levels there have been falling.

Flood precautions were underway Tuesday in Serbia with the Danube starting to rise there.