Michael Jackson's Rare message for victims of flood in Germany Greek subtitles August 2002 Thousands flee their homes as floods hit Germany "Record floods engulfed the historic eastern German city of Dresden today, swamping its Baroque architecture and driving thousands from their homes. A tide of debris-laden brown water also submerged other towns on the River Elbe, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands while volunteers battled to save the centre of Dresden, the capital of Saxony, 120 miles south of Berlin. Floods have killed at least 89 people in Germany, Russia, Austria and the Czech Republic over the last week, after torrential rains sent a huge surge of water through river systems. At least 10 died in Saxony. In Germany, the surging waters continued to rise. Officials feared more of the architectural gems of Dresden would be submerged. The Elbe rose from a normal summer level of about two metres to 9.16 metres, well surpassing the 8.77 metre record of 1845. The last four bridges open in Dresden were closed. Dresden Mayor Ingolf Rossberg estimated the damage would cost far more than 100 million euros for Dresden alone, just one of scores of towns in Germany's former communist east ravaged by the deluge. Some 30,000 people were evacuated from endangered districts, hospitals and old people's homes in Dresden. There were isolated reports of looting. Thousands of emergency workers and volunteers battled by torchlight through the night, piling up sandbags to protect the city centre, which boasts famous architectural landmarks like the Zwinger palace, the Semper opera and the cathedral. The fire brigade gave up its fight to stop flooding in the theatre plaza as water bubbled up from overflowing sewers through manhole covers on the square. The basement of the Semper opera filled with 2.5 metres of water. "The orchestra pit and the concert hall itself are still safe," said Adi Luick, director of the Semper opera, but added that performances had been cancelled for the next two months. The German government has announced hundreds of millions of euros in emergency relief to flood victims and said it was offering a package of tax breaks to ease the clean-up." Here's Michael's message to the German people affected by the floods

• published: 09 Apr 2015
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