1.   Debris was strewn across streets in the area as local residents struggled to build a sandbag barrier.

2.   Emergency crews and homeowners used a brief respite in the weather to clear muck and debris, fortify sandbag barriers and fill huge holes in the road.

3.   He said the augmented sandbag barriers were placed outside tents where members of the unit continue to work during the day.

4.   In the north of the country, canals overflowed, flooding homes in the towns of Bruges and Gand, where firemen pumped out cellars and built sandbag barriers.

5.   In the north of the country, canals overflowed, flooding the towns of Bruges and Gand, where firemen pumped out cellars and built sandbag barriers.

6.   The Rhine, Moselle, Saar and Fulda rivers were also in spate and hundreds of firefighters were called out to erect sandbag barriers against the mounting waters.

7.   Troops were working flat out to build sandbag barriers around two Norwegian towns on Tuesday, as flood waters continued to rise in the southeast of the country.

8.   Norwegian troops struggled to build sandbag barriers high enough to protect two towns Tuesday, with floodwaters expected to peak over the weekend.