In eastern Germany, residents of a village had to leave home and hearth on Christmas Day due to high water in the immediate area.
The authorities called for the evacuation of all more than five hundred villagers of Windehausen. Meanwhile, the German weather service continues to warn of the risk of flooding in parts of the country.
Windehausen residents were urgently advised to leave their homes, but they would not be forced, authorities said. They could go to a sports hall.
Persistent rainfall also caused a lot of nuisance elsewhere in Germany. Train traffic between Hanover and Magdeburg was halted after ballast was washed away under the track. The interruption would last until Wednesday.
Storm surges are forecast on the Elbe in Hamburg late on Monday, with levels of 1.5 meters above mean high tide. The water can also rise higher than normal along the North Sea coast.