The devastating floods in Germany have killed nearly 60 people, and more than 1,000 people are missing in one area alone. As prime minister Angela Merkel We express our deep sympathy for the victims of a “disaster” whose extent will only become apparent in the next few days.
On Thursday night, the authorities in the Ahrweiler region in western Germany Say The death toll is expected to climb, and it is believed that about 1,300 people are missing, partly due to damage to the mobile phone network.
In the town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler alone, more than 1,000 rescue missions were carried out on Thursday, some of which are still in progress.
More than 1,000 emergency services personnel from Rhineland-Palatinate and the neighboring states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Wurttemberg are helping the region. The Ahrweiler authorities stated that it is too early to judge the scale of the loss.
The death toll is 58 GermanyAt least 30 people died in North Rhine-Westphalia, and 28 people died in the southern neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate state. Among the victims in Rhineland-Palatinate were 9 residents of assisted living facilities for the disabled and two firefighters involved in rescue work.
The death toll is Belgium According to Belga, the Belgian news agency, the number has risen to nine.
The governor of the Rhineland-Palatinate state, Malu Dreyer, told the regional council: “Some people are dead, some are missing, and many others are in danger.” “We have never seen such a disaster. This is really devastating.”
In a speech at the White House during her visit to Washington, Merkel said that this day was “full of fear, despair, and pain, and hundreds of thousands of people were suddenly facing disaster.”
She said: “I express my sympathy and sympathy for all those who lost their loved ones in this disaster or are still worried about the fate of missing persons,” and pointed out that many people in Luxembourg and the Netherlands are also suffering.
Merkel stated that her government would not allow the affected people to “suffer the pain alone”, adding that it “does its best to help them out of their difficulties”.
US President Joe Biden stood beside her at a press conference after bilateral talks, calling the flood a tragedy.
Biden said: “I want to express to you and the German people my sincere condolences and the American people’s condolences for the devastating loss of life and destruction caused by floods in Germany and neighboring countries in the past 24 hours.
Unusually heavy rain flooded these four countries, causing rivers to burst banks, flooding towns and streets, and hundreds of thousands of homes without electricity.
In Germany, desperate residents sought refuge on the roofs of their homes as rescue helicopters hovered over the sky. In the town of Schuld in the Eifel Mountains, several houses collapsed overnight and 70 people were reported missing.
“This is catastrophic,” said 65-year-old Edgar Gillessen, whose home was destroyed. “I know all the people who live here. I feel sorry for them, they have lost everything,” he told Reuters. “A friend opened a workshop over there. There is nothing. There is no bakery, butcher shop. It’s scary. It’s hard to imagine.”
Fearing that the dam might burst, authorities in the Rhein-Sieg county south of Cologne ordered the evacuation of several villages under the Steinbach reservoir.
Due to floods and landslides, roads were impassable, many villages were cut off, and the extent of damage to the entire area remains unclear. Videos posted on social media showed cars floating on the street and houses partially collapsed.
European Commission President Ursula von der Lein promised to help. Pope Francis expressed his condolences to him. His office said that the Pope is praying for the injured and missing and those who have lost their livelihoods.
