Massive German floods monitored from space   Residents make their way through a flooded street of Hitzacker, northern Germany, 08 April 2006. The swollen Elbe river rose to record levels in parts of northern Germany, but authorities said the worst of recent flooding would soon be over.   An ERS-2 radar image showing the flood extent of the Elbe River in the area around Hitzacker in Lower Saxony, Germany. This is a multitemporal image composed of an ERS-2 image acquired before flooding (1 July 2005) and an ERS-2 image acquired during flooding (7 April 2006).   This topographic map of Elbe River flooding was created by overlying the flood image derived from ERS-2 satellite data of 7 April 2006 onto a cartographic map to show precisely how the flood has affected the area around Hitzacker. Release date: 13 April 2006