Rhine River Could Top Record Level

The Rhine River swelled to record levels, thousands left their homes and daily routine ground to a standstill Monday in large parts of western Europe inundated by days of flooding.

More than 20 people have died and more than 18,000 have been evacuated since the heavy rains and flooding began last week. Large areas of France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and England remained flooded.

The Rhine in Cologne, Germany, reached 34 feet 7 inches by afternoon. Officials predicted it would top this century’s record of 34 feet, 7 and one-third inches, set in January 1926.

Reinhard Vogt, head of the emergency center in Cologne, said the Rhine’s rise had slowed by sundown. Cologne cathedral, near the city’s main train station, was not threatened.

Shipping on most flooded European rivers was suspended.