More than 60 people have died and dozens are missing as severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into raging torrents that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse.
Among those killed were nine residents of an assisted living facility for people with disabilities and two firefighters involved in rescue efforts across the region.
“I grieve for those who have lost their lives in this disaster,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a visit to Washington, expressing shock at the scope of the flooding.
Speaking alongside US President Joe Biden at the White House, Merkel said her thoughts were with all those who had lost loved ones or were still searching for them.
“I fear the full extent of this tragedy will only be seen in the coming days,” she said.
Biden likewise paid his condolences for the devastating loss of life and the destruction due to the flooding.
“Our hearts go out to the families who’ve lost loved ones,” he said.
Authorities said at least 30 people died in North Rhine-Westphalia state and 28 in neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate to the south. Belgian media reported eight deaths in that country.
Recent storms across parts of western Europe made rivers and reservoirs burst their banks, triggering flash floods overnight after the saturated soil couldn’t absorb any more water.
Among the worst-hit German villages was Schuld, where several homes collapsed and dozens of people remained unaccounted for.
Rescue operations were hampered by blocked roads and phone and internet outages across the Eifel, a volcanic region of rolling hills and small valleys. Some villages were reduced to rubble as old brick and timber houses couldn’t withstand the sudden rush of water, often carrying trees and other debris as it gushed through narrow streets.
In Belgium, the Vesdre River spilled over its banks and sent water churning through the streets of Pepinster, near Liege, where a rescue operation by firefighters went wrong when a small boat capsised and three elderly people disappeared.
“Unfortunately, they were quickly engulfed,” said Mayor Philippe Godin.
“I fear they are dead.”
In Verviers, the prosecutor’s office said several bodies had been found but could not confirm local media reports that four people were killed there.
In Liege, a city of 200,000, the Meuse River overflowed its banks Thursday and the mayor asked people living nearby to move to higher ground.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to help, and Pope Francis sent condolences, with his office saying the pontiff was praying for those injured and missing, as well as those who have lost their livelihoods.
The full extent of the damage was still unclear, with many villages cut off by floods and landslides that made roads impassable. Many of the dead were only discovered after floodwaters receded.
Authorities in the Rhine-Sieg county south of Cologne ordered the evacuation of several villages below the Steinbach reservoir amid fears a dam could break.
Rainfall eased later on Thursday across Germany, although water levels on the Mosel and Rhine rivers were expected to continue rising.
In the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima visited the hard-hit Dutch town of Valkenburg on Thursday evening to support residents and emergency services. Flooding turned the main street into a torrent of brown water, inundating homes and businesses.
The Dutch government sent about 70 troops to the southern province of Limburg late Wednesday to help with evacuations and filling sandbags.
Thousands of people in the city of Maastricht and villages along the Maas River were ordered to evacuate Thursday evening amid threats of flooding, and centres were set up to house them. The Maas is the Dutch name for the Meuse River.
In northeastern France, heavy rains flooded vegetable fields, many homes and a World War I museum in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon.
The Aire River rose to its highest levels in 30 years in some areas, according to the L’Est Republicain newspaper.
The equivalent of two months of rain has fallen over two days, according to the French national weather service, with flood warnings issued for 10 regions. No injuries or deaths have been reported, but forecasters warned of mudslides and more rain Friday.
AAP
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