In Germany, heavy rain has led to flooding in some areas, with people in one northern city piling sand bags in front of their homes to protect themselves against a swollen river.<br/><br/>Streets were flooded and basements had to be pumped dry of water in the mountainous Harz region today, and two stretches of local railway lines were closed. In nearby Hildesheim, people stacked sand bags along the banks of the swelling Innerste river.