Germany braces for flood surge

The churning waters of the Vltava River in Prague.

Levels peaked Tuesday, raising hopes among residents of the Czech capital that the worst flooding is over.

But forecasters predicted parts of Germany, Slovakia and Hungary, would be hit in the coming days.

The deluge has already claimed 11 lives in central Europe.

In eastern Germany, 2,000 residents of Grimma evacuated their homes, though some refused to leave.

(SOUNDBITE) (German) RESIDENT OF GRIMMA'S OLD PART OF TOWN, WOLFGANG KLAWITTER, SAYING:

"We hope for a normalisation of the situation and that we can once again get in and out of town," this man says. "We have no electricity and at some point, we also need to get food. We did not want to go to the emergency shelter."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel toured some of the country's hardest hit areas, announcing an initial 100 million euros in aid to support victims.

(SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING:

"I