Floods in Germany and Other Parts of Western Europe Leave at least 117 Dead
The Hohenzollern bridge and the MS Rheinperl on the Rhein in Köln
Catastrophic flooding in Germany and Belgium on Thursday resulted in at least 117 deaths as streams, rivers, and streets turned into raging torrents that swept away all in their path, including houses.
The flooding has been the worst that Germany has seen in decades, and the military was deployed to some of the hardest hit areas. In Germany over 103 people have died and more than 1,000 are missing.
Storms in the region over the past few days caused rivers and reservoirs to overflow their banks, which then triggered flash floods after the saturated soil couldn’t absorb additional water.
“I grieve for those who have lost their lives in this disaster,” said Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel.
The death toll in Germany is the highest from a natural catastrophe there since a deadly Nordsee flood in 1962 that killed some 340 people.
The floodwaters have left over 114,000 homes in Germany without electricity and mobile phone networks were brought down in many parts of the affected areas by the flash floods.
The European Union said that it stands ready to help countries affected by the flash floods recover, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said.
“My thoughts are with the families of the victims of the devastating floods in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands and with those who have lost their homes,” von der Leyen said in a tweet. “The EU is ready to help. Affected countries can call on the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.”
Among the worst hit areas was the village of Schulz, which dates back to 975. Several homes were destroyed by the floodwaters and dozens of residents remain unaccounted for.
Officials in Rheinland-Pfalz said that approximately 1,300 people were reported missing in the Landkreis Ahrweiler, which lies south of Köln, or Cologne, the Landkreis said on Facebook. Further north, in Erftstadt, which is near Köln, several houses collapsed Friday morning, officials there reported. At least 28 people had died including nine residents of an assisted living facility for the disabled, while officials in the neighboring Bundesland of Nordrhein-Westfalen reported at least 30 deaths there.
In some areas, homes constructed out of brick and timber couldn’t withstand the pressure of the floodwaters, which often carried with them entire trees as they surged through narrow streets.
In Köln, the fire department reported two deaths in flooded basements, a 72-year-old female and a 54-year-old male. In Solingen, an 82-year-old male fell and drowned in similar circumstances.
Belgian officials also reported at least eight deaths and the flooding has also affected the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
The Vesder river in Liège Province burst its banks and sent swift-moving floodwaters into the streets of Pepinster. It was in Pepinster that a rescue operation went awry: after three elderly people had made it to a fire rescue boat, it capsized and the occupants disappeared into the fast-moving waters. Meanwhile, in the city of Liège, the Maas river forced people in that city to move to higher ground when it spilled over its banks.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
