Aken, Germany News

Record water levels on the Elbe River pushed northward Wednesday, forcing 45,000 people from their homes in northern and eastern Germany, officials said.

Thousands of people left their homes in eastern Germany on Sunday as a dam burst on the swollen River Elbe and swathes of farmland were flooded in an attempt to spare towns, with meteorologists forecasting more rain.

In the east of Germany more than 23 thousand people are in need of evacuation because of dam breach on the river Elbe near Magdeburg.

Thousands of emergency workers, troops and volunteers in Germany battled Sunday against central Europe's worst floods in over a decade, while the swelling Danube put Budapest on high alert.

Germany prides itself on having "strict, even restrictive regulations" for the export of weapons of war.