German central bank inundated with money damaged in floods

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s central bank says it has been inundated with more than 50 million euros’ ($59 million) worth of damaged bank notes after deadly floods that hit part of the country in July. The Bundesbank said Wednesday that individuals and banks have handed in notes that were soaked in the floods and often also contaminated with oil, sewage or mud. The damaged money is dried, processed and then destroyed, and its owners are refunded without charge. The bank said it received 51 million euros’ worth of notes from the flood-hit areas in western Germany between mid-July and the end of August.