What you need to know
- 1 killed as dangerous storms battered parts of Germany overnight into Thursday
- Longtime CDU politician in Saxony-Anhalt pens letter to support AfD party, regional newspaper says
Keep reading here for the latest news out of Germany on August 20, 2026:
1 dead as winds and rain batter parts of Germany
A wave of destructive storms overnight into Thursday toppled trees, damaged homes in several parts of the country as well as killed a woman in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The woman, who was 58 years old, was out on a walk with her friend in the village of Waldorf, Rhineland-Palatinate, when the storm moved in.
The two sought shelter in an outdoor seating area that was covered, but a tree fell over that. One died at the scene, and the other woman was taken to hospital.
Elsewhere in the country, storms damaged dozens of homes and brought down trees across parts of western and central Germany.
Around 60 homes were damaged in Wetzlar, Hesse, the fire service said.
Weather-related emergency operations were reported in the states of Thuringia, Brandenburg and Bavaria.
CDU politician in Saxony-Anhalt donated €10,000 to AfD — report
A longtime member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) wrote an open letter in which he urged voters in Saxony-Anhalt to vote for the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) in the upcoming regional vote on September 6.
Bernd Prange, who serves as mayor of one of the municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt, said he was planning on voting for the AfD too, according to Volksstimme, a major regional daily newspaper.
The paper reported that Prange donated a total of €10,000 ($11,700) to the AfD to support the party.
Prange wrote that the CDU no longer represented his conservative principles like merit, order, economic prudence but was instead moving leftward, according to Volksstimme.
Welcome to our blog
Guten Tag! Welcome to the Thursday edition of our blog on Germany.
We're keeping an eye out for the news about overnight storms in several parts of the country that uprooted homes and trees and killed a woman.
We're also covering news that a conservative CDU politician in Saxony-Anhalt has reportedly penned a letter in which he says he's dissatisfied with the party and he plans on voting for the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD).
Stay tuned.