Water levels on the Danube River have dropped so low due to drought that World War II German battleships are emerging into viewA man walks on the sandbank by the wreckage of a WWII German warship, emerged due to the drought, in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River, between Romania and Serbia, near Prahovo, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)PRAHOVO, Serbia -- Water levels on the Danube River, the second longest in Europe, have dropped so low because of drought that the hulks of dozens of World War II German battleships are emerging into view. Historians say up to 200 German warships were scuttled in September 1944 near Prahovo in the Danube gorge as they came under Soviet fire. Now, however, authorities are trying to keep traffic flowing on the Danube, which flows through 10 nations, as the dropping water levels create dangerous conditions. Krsta Brandic, a Prahovo resident, said the low water levels have almost stopped ship traffic: “As you can see, the (big) ships can’t pass anymore."