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At least 42 dead and dozens missing as floods ravage Germany

By
Social Links for Yaron Steinbuch
Published July 15, 2021
Updated July 16, 2021, 4:12 a.m. ET

At least 42 people have died and many more were missing in Germany on Thursday as record rainfall in Western Europe caused rivers to burst their banks, swept away cars and toppled buildings.

Unusually heavy rains also inundated neighboring Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium, where at least four people were reported dead and people were ordered to evacuate a riverbank in the city of Liege, according to Agence France-Presse.

In hard-hit Germany, which is experiencing one of the worst weather disasters in decades, desperate residents sought refuge on their roofs as helicopters circled overhead.

Annemarie Mueller, 65, looking out at her flooded property from her balcony, said her town of Mayen had been completely unprepared for the destruction.

Houses are submerged on the overflowed river banks in Erdorf, Germany, as the village was flooded on July 15, 2021.
Houses are submerged by the overflowing river in Erdorf, Germany, as the village was flooded on July 15, 2021.AP

“Where did all this rain come from? It’s crazy,” she told AFP. “It made such a loud noise and given how fast it came down, we thought it would break the door down.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a visit to Washington, said she was “shocked” by the humanitarian “disaster” and vowed that the government would do “everything in its power to, under the most difficult circumstances, save lives, prevent danger and ease suffering.”

Two men look at a flooded street due to persistent storms, in Esch, Germany.
Two men look at a flooded street due to persistent storms, in Esch, Germany. AP
A firefighter wades through a street in Kordel, Germany, which was flooded by the Kyll river.
A firefighter wades through a street in Kordel, Germany, which was flooded by the Kyll river. AP

At least 18 bodies were recovered in the region around the western town of Ahrweiler alone, a police spokesman told the news agency. Local officials had earlier reported up to 70 people missing.

Farther north, the district of Euskirchen reported 15 dead. Four more victims were in the municipality of Schuld south of Bonn where six homes were swept away by the rushing waters. Several other bodies were recovered from flooded cellars across the region.

Malu Dreyer, the governor of Rhineland-Palatinate state, told the regional parliament about the unprecedented natural disaster.

“There are people dead, there are people missing, there are many who are still in danger,” Dreyer said. “We have never seen such a disaster. It’s really devastating.”

A street is flooded due to persistent storms, in Esch, Germany.
A street is flooded due to persistent storms, in Esch, Germany. AP

Across the border in Belgium, the Vesdre river broke its banks and sent a torrent of water cascading through the streets of Pepinster, close to Liege, its destructive power toppling several buildings.

“Several homes have collapsed,” Mayor Philippe Godin told RTBF network. It was unclear whether all inhabitants had been able to escape unscathed.

In Liege, officials asked residents “who still have the possibility to evacuate to do so,” a statement said, adding that waters could rise another five feet in the coming hours from their current levels.

“If evacuation is no longer possible, citizens are advised to go upstairs and not to take any risks,” the statement added. “The crisis situation is exceptional and solidarity must prevail.”

Liege, with a population of about 200,000, is the fourth-most populous city in Belgium and is just 24 miles from Germany.

“The flooding is going to be very dangerous in Liege itself,” Elio Di Rupo, president of the Walloon region, told the regional parliament Thursday.

A man walks by damaged cars in a flooded street in Mery, Province of Liege, Belgium.
A man walks by damaged cars in a flooded street in Mery, Liege province, Belgium. AP

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to help those affected by the deadly deluge.

“My thoughts are with the families of the victims of the devastating floods in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and those who have lost their homes,” she tweeted. “The EU is ready to help.”

Gov. Armin Laschet, who is running to succeed Merkel as chancellor in this fall’s election, was expected to visit the flood-hit city of Hagen later Thursday.

A car is covered by debris in Hagen, Germany after being swept up in the Nahma' river.
A car is covered by debris in Hagen, Germany, after being swept up in the Nahma river. AP

German weather service DWD predicted the rainfall would ease Thursday, though there might still be localized storms.

In the Netherlands, authorities in the southern town of Valkenburg evacuated a care home and a hospice overnight amid flooding that turned the tourist town’s main street into a river, local media reported.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted that the extreme weather should not be regarded as “the new normal.”

Water flows from the river Maine as the torrential rains continue to pummel Germany.
Water flows from the river Main as torrential rains continue to pummel Germany. AP

“We’re at the very beginning of a climate and ecological emergency, and extreme weather events will only become more and more frequent,” she said on Twitter.

With Post wires