Thunderstorms and torrential rains caused dozens of accidents in southern and western Germany and hundreds of firefighter interventions were required.
In Bavaria, villages were flooded and the streets were completely covered with mud and water, German news agency dpa reported.
Stuttgart was also badly affected where parts of the roof and several statues of the city’s opera house were blown to the ground by strong winds.
“I am standing under the roof and I am very wet,” opera director Viktor Schoner told dpa on Monday evening.
Some 250 people were attending a performance when the storm hit, but there were no injuries, dpa reported.
Mr Schoner said parts of the stage were flooded when water poured inside along the lighting installation.
A car sits in a flooded underground passage in Stuttgart. Photo: Marijan Murat / dpa via AP
In total, rescue teams were called more than 330 times on Monday and Tuesday morning in Stuttgart, and train services were cut off for hours.
A tree struck a car and blocked a street after a storm in Stuttgart. Photo: Simon Adomat / VMD-Images / dpa / AP
The felled trees had to be cut and removed by firefighters.
The states of Baden-Württemberg – where Stuttgart is located – as well as Hesse were particularly affected by the deluge-type rains and reported dozens of road accidents early on Tuesday morning.
The number of people injured in the crashes was not immediately known.
Seven accidents were reported during heavy rains on the motorways near the town of Montabaur in the Westerwald with one seriously and three people slightly injured.
