Germany floods: At least 80 dead and hundreds unaccounted for

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Germany floods: At least 80 dead and hundreds unaccounted for

July 16, 2021: At least 80 people have been killed and hundreds more in Germany missing after the worst flooding witnessed in decades.

Record rainfall in Western Europe caused rivers to burst their banks and devastate the region. Belgium has also reported the deaths of at least 11 people after severe weather, which political leaders have blamed on climate change. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised full support for the victims. The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, during a visit to a severely affected area, blamed the extreme weather for global warming.

“We will have to deal with such incidents again and again and that means we need to step up climate protection measures … because climate change is not limited to one state,” he said.  Experts say climate change is expected to increase the frequency of severe weather events, but linking any event to global warming is complicated.

The German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia were the hardest hit, but Belgium and the Netherlands were also badly affected, with more flooding in Luxembourg and Switzerland. Authorities say hundreds of people in the Ahrweiler district are missing. A local government spokesman said the mobile network had been put into practice, making it impossible to reach many people.

The village of Schuld (population 700) was almost completely destroyed.

More heavy rains are forecast across the region on Friday.

About 15,000 police, military and emergency services personnel were on the scene to help with the search and rescue, while helicopters picked up residents trapped on rooftops and tanks to clear fallen trees and debris roads. Stunned residents of the region said they were shocked by the devastation. “No one expected that – where did all this rain come from? It’s crazy,” said Annemarie Mueller, a 65-year-old Mayen resident. “It made so much noise and it told us how fast it came down. We thought it would break down the door.”

Speaking during a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington DC, Mrs Merkel expressed “deep sorrow” to everyone in the region who lost loved ones after “days of distress and despair” ۔ “I am afraid we will see the full extent of this tragedy in the future,” he said. He promised the German people that the government would co-operate with relief efforts and reconstruction. It will not leave you alone in a terrible hour. ” In Belgium, dramatic flood footage showed cars washed away on a city road in Verviers.

Residents of Liege, Belgium’s third-largest urban area after Brussels and Antwerp, have been ordered to evacuate. Local officials said those who could not get out should go to the top floor of their buildings. The Meuse River, which flows through the city, is expected to rise another 1.5 meters, although it is already on its way. Officials also feared a dam bridge could collapse in the area and called on people to help each other.

In the Netherlands, King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima inspected the damage in Valkenburg, near the Belgian-German border, where floodwaters engulfed the city center and forced several nursing homes to evacuate.

No casualties were reported in the country, but thousands of people in towns and villages along the Meuse River have been urged to leave their homes.

In the Dutch city of Maastricht, 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate.

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