Berlin: More than 120 people have died in devastating floods across parts of western Germany and Belgium, officials said Friday. Search and rescue operations are continuing for hundreds more still unaccounted for or in danger. It is expected that the toll may go up substantially.
Authorities in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate said 60 people had died there. Among them are 12 residents of an assisted living facility for people with disabilities in the town of Sinzig. They were surprised by a sudden rush of water from the nearby river Ahr and could not escape. In neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia state officials put the death toll at 43, but warned that the figure could increase.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was ‘stunned’ by the devastation caused by the floods. He pledged support to the families of those killed and to cities and towns facing significant damage. “In the hour of need, our country stands together,” Steinmeier said in a statement Friday afternoon. “It’s important that we show solidarity for those from whom the floods have taken everything.”
Rescuers rushed Friday to help people trapped in their homes in the town of Erftstadt, southwest of Cologne. Regional authorities said several people had died after their houses collapsed when the ground beneath them sank suddenly. Aerial photos showed what appeared to be a massive sinkhole.
“We managed to get 50 people out of their houses last (Thursday) night,” county administrator Frank Rock said. “We know of 15 people who still need to be rescued,” he added. Speaking to German broadcaster ‘n-tv’, Rock said that authorities had no precise number yet for how many had died. “One has to assume that under the circumstances some people didn’t manage to escape,” he said.
Authorities said late Thursday that about 1,300 people in Germany were listed as missing.
After Germany, where more than 100 people have died, Belgium was the hardest hit by the floods that caused homes to be ripped away and roads to be turned into wild rivers. Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told ‘VRT’ network Friday that the country’s official confirmed death toll has grown to 18. The number of missing is estimated at 19.
Water levels on the Meuse river that runs from Belgium into the Netherlands remains critical, and several dikes are at risk of collapsing, Verlinden said. Authorities in the southern Dutch town of Venlo evacuated some 200 hospital patients due to the looming threat of flooding from the river.
Flash floods this week followed days of heavy rainfall in Western Europe which turned streams and streets into raging torrents that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse across the region.