Dresden under waist-deep water

Dresden's artwork under threat as museums flooded

DRESDEN, Germany -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has promised $100 million in aid to flood-stricken parts of the country as regions face their worst weather conditions on record.

Schroeder who faces general elections in September planned to break from his re-election campaign to visit the affected areas.

The eastern part of the German state of Saxony is worst hit, where at least six lives have been lost, and famous buildings in the historic town of Dresden are under threat.

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Among the dead are a 71-year-old man who drowned on Monday night. German authorities said two other adults and a child were missing after being swept away by a cascade of mud and water

Dresden is under waist-high water levels after the river Elbe rose more than five metres above normal.

Thirty thousand people have been evacuated from areas near rivers or dams, while Dresden's Zwinger Palace, host to one of Europe's great art museums, was partially under water.

Volunteers were moving thousands of pieces of artwork from the basement and ground floor to safety on higher levels. Museum officials told Reuters news agency the city's art collections had not been damaged.

Another city landmark, the Semper Opera, had its basement pumped out by firefighters while Dresden's railway station resembled a swimming pool.

Authorities further downstream in the town of Dessau and further afield in Hamburg were anticipating the flood waters to reach them in the next few days.

The town of Jessmitz, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, was flooded -- and its residents evacuated -- after the river Mulde broke its banks.

The 100 million euros ($99 million) pledged by the Cabinet is a third of the 300 million euros needed to clean up after the river Oder flooded on Germany's eastern border in 1997.