In pics | Germany floods: Dozens killed, many missing as storms, heavy rainfall wreck havoc in Europe

Thirty-three people have died so far in Germany and dozens were missing on July 15, as record rainfall caused rivers to overflow, sweeping away homes and flooding cellars. Storms and heavy rainfall have caused severe flooding across parts of western and central Europe. (Image: AP)

A fireman died in the western German town of Altena, police told German news agency DPA. At least 18 people had died and dozens were missing around the wine-growing hub of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate state, police said, after the Ahr river that flows into the Rhine rose and brought down half a dozen houses. (Image: AP)

Firefighters in Hagen, near Altena, rescued several drivers whose vehicles got stuck in a flooded underpass. Videos on social media showed streets in the city filled with knee-high water and others buried by landslides. (Image: AP)

Eight people died in the Euskirchen region south of the city of Bonn, authorities said. In Belgium, two men died due to torrential rain and a 15-year-old girl was missing after being swept away by a swollen river. (Image: AP)

A fallen tree trapped a woman in the German town of Mettmann, and responders had to hold her head up to keep her from drowning in rising floodwaters until firefighters could free her. (Image: AP)

Hundreds of soldiers were helping police with rescue efforts, using tanks to clear roads of landslides and fallen trees, while helicopters winched those stranded on rooftops to safety. (Image: AP)

The floods have caused Germany’s worst mass loss of life in years. In 2002, 21 people were killed in eastern Germany and over 100 across the wider central European region. (Image: AP)