https://phtq-canada.blogspot.com/2021/07/europe-thien-tai-lu-lut.html
Flash flood chaos in Europe: At least 67 dead across Germany and Belgium and scores more missing as buildings are destroyed and families left trapped on rooftops after heavy rain strikes the continent
- Torrential downpours struck parts of Europe overnight, triggering flash flooding after days of heavy rain
- 45 people died in Germany alone with 70 missing across North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhine Palatinate states
- Town of Schuld, south of Bonn, particularly hard-hit after six homes were swept away and others damaged
- Eight people reported dead in Belgium while a 15-year-old girl is missing after floods in the country's east
- Evacuations also underway in Netherlands, Switzerland and Luxembourg after rivers burst their banks
At least 67 people have died and at least 70 are missing after torrential rain triggered some of Europe's deadliest flooding in years - with homes and cars swept away in Germany and parts of Belgium.
Hardest-hit was western Germany where at least 45 people were killed, spread across its most-populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia and neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate.
The town of Schuld, south of Bonn, was particularly badly affected - with at least 18 killed there and in the nearby town of Ahrweiler with dozens missing when the Ahr river burst its banks and swept away homes even as people sheltered on their rooftops.
Fifteen people also died in the Euskirchen region while two firefighters were killed elsewhere during rescue efforts, with 300 soldiers deployed to help rescue teams today along with helicopters and inflatable boats.
Malu Dreyer, premier of Rhineland-Palatinate state, described the situation as 'a catastrophe', adding: 'There are dead, missing and many still in danger. Our emergency services are in action... and risking their own lives.'
It marks Germany's deadliest flooding in decades - the closest comparable tragedy struck in 2002 when 21 died in the country, with more than 100 killed in Europe as a whole.
German authorities estimate at least 59 people died in the floods and Belgian media reported eight deaths in the country including two men who were swept away in the flooding while a 15-year-old girl was also reported missing. Ten houses collapsed near Verviers after the river Vesdre flooded, with residents evacuated from more than 1,000 homes.
Belgian authorities also ordered those living along the waterfront in Liege to evacuate as water levels rose.
'We have rarely experienced such intense flooding. You have to go back to 1998 to have experienced this,' mayor of nearby Chaudefontaine Daniel Bacquelaine told RTL radio.
Residents of South Limburg, in the Netherlands, also had to be evacuated after flooding there overnight, though no casualties were reported.
Flooding also hit Switzerland as rivers burst their banks, while similar scenes played out in Luxembourg. French forecasters also issued severe weather warnings for the east of the country today.
GERMANY: At least four people died and dozens more are missing after flooding destroyed large parts of the town of Sculd
GERMANY: Debris from destroyed houses is seen strewn through the city of Schuld after it was hit by flooding overnight
GERMANY: Debris lay in a street after the floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr, western Germany
Pensioner Annemarie Mueller, 65, looking out at her flooded garden and garage from her balcony, said her town of Mayen had been completely unprepared for the destruction.
'Where did all this rain come from? It's crazy,' she told AFP, recalling the floodwater crashing through her street during the night.
'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', calling it a 'tragedy' for the nation.
She vowed that the government would do 'everything in its power to, under the most difficult circumstances, save lives, prevent danger and ease suffering'.
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) premier Armin Laschet, who is running to succeed Merkel in September elections, cancelled a party meeting in Bavaria to survey the damage in his state, Germany's most populous.
'We will stand by the towns and people who've been affected,' Laschet, clad in rubber boots, told reporters in the town of Hagen.
He called for 'speeding up' global efforts to fight climate change, underlining the link between global warming and extreme weather.
Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, climate change increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall.
Nineteen bodies were recovered in the region around the western town of Ahrweiler alone, with up to 70 people missing, a police spokesman told AFP.
Farther north, the district of Euskirchen in NRW reported 15 dead. Four more victims were found in the municipality of Schuld south of Bonn where six houses were swept away by floods.
Several other bodies were recovered from flooded cellars across the region.
The environment ministry in Rhineland-Palatinate state warned it expected floodwaters on the Rhine and Moselle rivers to rise with more rainfall. In NRW and Rhineland-Palatinate, some 200,000 households were without power.
Police set up a crisis hotline for reporting missing loved ones and residents were asked to send in videos and photos that could help them in the search.
Regional official Juergen Pfoehler in Ahrweiler urged people to stay home 'and, if possible, go to higher floors' of their houses.
The German military deployed some 400 soldiers across the two affected states to assist in rescue efforts.
In the city of Leverkusen, a power outage triggered by the storms led to the evacuation of a hospital with 468 patients.
Belgium has also seen several days of heavy rain that has caused rivers in the French-speaking 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.
Residents in Liege were told Thursday to urgently evacuate neighbourhoods near the banks of the Meuse river.
In the town of Chaudfontaine, daily Le Soir reported that nearly 1,800 people had to evacuate.
The country's Infrabel rail network said it was suspending services in the southern half of the country, given the risks to travel.
Meanwhile Dutch safety workers have evacuated hundreds of homes in the southern town of Roermond.
Officials also 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. The Luxembourg government set up a crisis cell to respond to emergencies triggered by heavy rains overnight as Prime Minister Xavier Bettel reported 'several homes' had been flooded and were 'no longer inhabitable'.
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