Floods continued to devastate communities alongside the surging River Elbe in Germany 's northeastern Saxony-Anhalt state Wednesday . Hundreds of people are being evacuated from their homes in the towns of Stendal and Aken , with the army using helicopters and amphibious vehicles to help move them to safety . `` One-hundred-and-fifty people refused to be evacuated , but were forced to leave their homes by authorities , '' a spokesman for Saxony-Anhalt 's Interior Ministry in Magdeburg said . The evacuation process is still under way . In total , 45,000 people have been asked to leave their homes in Saxony-Anhalt , the state currently worst affected by the flooding . About 11,500 rescue workers are operating in the area . The village of Fischbeck , about six miles from Stendal , is completely flooded after a nearby dike was breached . Efforts to repair the dike have failed despite the deployment of two army helicopters to drop giant sand bags . Police who turned back a CNN team who tried to reach Fischbeck described the situation as critical and dangerous . Although the water level around Stendal is already falling , the water continues to flood villages downstream such as Klietz and Wust . Soldiers ca n't hold back the water . `` We expect the water to devastate further cities . Consequently we are trying to build new emergency dikes to stop the floods , '' said a spokesman for Saxony-Anhalt 's interior ministry . Annette Friedebold , the owner of an animal park in Weissewarte , told CNN how she 'd been forced to evacuate most of the 400 animals housed there , starting last Tuesday . `` We built small evacuation islands for the animals that had to stay . Fortunately , all of them survived the flooding . But it is going to take at least three months until everything will be rebuilt , '' she said . The flooding is the worst she has seen in more than 30 years working in Weissewarte . The village lies about 3.5 miles from the River Elbe , which is swollen from heavy rains at the start of the month . Record water levels along the Elbe as it makes its way to the North Sea have caused flooding in the Czech Republic , as well as eastern and northern Germany . Friedebold , who now has to travel through the park by boat to check on those animals who were left there , expects her park to be flooded for weeks to come . Like many other people in the affected regions , Friedebold hopes to receive donations . `` In 2002 , when the last big flooding occurred , we thought we would have to file for bankruptcy . But we were lucky because a lot of people were there to help us , '' she said . `` A lot of our animals are still shocked and scared . But they have to be strong now . '' Among the creatures still in the park are wild pigs and lynx . The latter sought refuge in the trees when the flood waters came . `` I still can not believe what the water has done to me and my park , '' Friedebold said . The crest on the River Danube , which has also brought flooding to southern Germany , Austria and Slovakia , is expected to reach southern Hungary on Wednesday and the country 's southwest a day later . Serbia is preparing for the Danube 's waters to peak there in the next four days .
The government uses helicopter and amphibious vehicles to evacuate areas stranded by flooding . The surging River Rhine has flooded many communities as it flows northwest to the sea . In total , 45,000 people have been asked to leave their homes in Hamburg - Bremen . Flood measurements are being taken along the River Danube in Romania and Serbia .