In Kinzig, in the central state of Hesse, five parachutists were injured after being caught in turbulence during a jump from an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 feet).

Lightning badly burned a 32-year-old man in Sankt Peter in the southwest Black Forest region, while other lightning strikes started numerous fires, one causing damage to a farm estimated at 500,000 euros (560,000 dollars).

Further west in Wiesbaden, a man and woman were hurt when their vehicle slid off a wet road, and part of the main A3 motorway near Niedernhausen was closed by an accident involving a truck carrying chemicals.

Basements and underpasses were flooded in several areas and falling trees also caused widespread damage.

TERRA.WIRE