The Austrian authorities fully closed the Danube River today, Tuesday, in Austria to shipping and navigation due to flooding resulting from heavy rainfall in the country and neighboring southern Germany.

The state-owned company operating shipping on the waterway / Via Donau / announced the closure today, Tuesday.

Christoph Kaspar, the spokesperson for the "Via Donau" company, told the German news agency (dpa): "Safety cannot be guaranteed above a certain water level."

The duration of this measure will depend on further rainfall and water levels in the tributaries of the Danube River.

The Danube River flows for more than 350 kilometers through Austria, from the Bavarian border city of Passau to the Slovak capital Bratislava, which is also on the border.

The closure forced some cruise ships to dock in Linz, where the Danube River overflowed and flooded its banks today, Tuesday. Some roads were also closed.

In the town of Scharding, located on the "Inn" River, a tributary of the Danube, protective measures have been increased to prevent major flooding.

As water levels in the Bavarian Danube across the border in Germany continue to rise, slight increases in the water levels of the upper Austrian Danube River were also recorded, according to the Upper Austria Hydrographic Authority, which is responsible for river and maritime surveys this Tuesday afternoon. Experts generally expect the situation to improve soon.