GERMAN MINISTER TOLD TO RESIGN OVER FLOODS.

German opposition parties have called for the resignation of Horst Seehofer, the interior minister, as finger-pointing begins over the fatal floods that have swept across the country during the past week, killing at least 165 people.

Critics say the government did not do enough to warn of the floods despite being alerted on July 10 to the possibility of catastrophic weather by the European flood service EFAS. Michael Theurer, deputy parliamentary chairman of the centrist Free Democratic Party (FDP), said the events “paint a picture of a considerable system failure for which the federal minister of the interior Seehofer bears direct personal responsibility.”

A spokesman for the Left-wing Die Linke party told Germany's Bild tabloid Monday that Seehofer should step down, saying he did not take the warnings seriously and had not passed on the information to relevant authorities.

Seehofer hit back, saying local authorities needed to take greater responsibility and that the criticism was just “very cheap election rhetoric.”

Dozens are still missing in several regions across the country.

BORIS ROESSLER / DPA VIA AP Two brothers weep in each other's arms on Monday in front of their parents' house, which was destroyed by the flood in Altenahr, Germany. At least 165 people died and dozens are still missing in the floods that hit the western region.