At least 45 dead in Germany floods
Germany is the worst hit among western European countries, along with Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
At least 45 people have died in Germany and dozens were missing on Thursday as record rainfall in western Europe caused rivers to burst their banks, swept away homes and flooded cellars. Eighteen people died and dozens were missing around the wine-growing region of Ahrweiler, in RhinelandPalatinate state, police said, after the Ahr river that flows into the Rhine rose and brought down half a dozen houses. Another 15 people died in the Euskirchen region south of the city of Bonn, authorities said. In Belgium, two men died due to the torrential rain and a 15-year-old girl was missing after being swept away by a swollen river. The floods have caused Germany’s worst mass loss of life in years. Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her dismay. “My sympathy goes out to the families of the dead,” she said. Tanks were also deployed to clear roads of landslides and fallen trees.
MAYEN, GERMANY: Heavy rains and floods lashing western Europe have killed at least 45 people in Germany and left many more missing, as rising waters led several houses to collapse on Thursday.
Unusually heavy rains also inundated neighbouring Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium, where at least four people were reported dead.
Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia states were the worst hit in Germany by the deluge, which has caused rivers to burst their banks and threatens to bring down more homes.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “shocked” by the devastation and thanked the “tireless volunteers and emergency service workers” at the scene.
Belgium has also seen several days of extremely heavy rain that has caused rivers in the Frenchspeaking region of Wallonia to burst their banks. Four were reported dead. The provinces of Liege and Namur were especially affected, with the resort town of Spa completely flooded.
The southern Dutch province of Limburg, which is bordered by Germany and Belgium, also reported widespread damage with rising waters threatening to cut off the small city of Valkenburg west of Maastricht.
Local news footage showed small rivers of water flowing through the scenic city centre’s streets and at least one old age home had been evacuated.
Officials closed off several roads including the busy A2 highway, while fears remained that water from heavy rains in Germany and Belgium would push up river levels as it reached the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, the Luxembourg government set up a crisis cell to respond to emergencies triggered as PM Xavier Bettel reported “several homes” had been flooded and were “no longer inhabitable”.