After several days of heavy rains in Western Europe caused at least 183 deaths and dozens of missing, Angela Merkel will visit flooded areas in Germany to investigate losses and meet survivors.
The prime minister plans to travel to the village of Schulder in the Rhineland-Palatinate state on Sunday, one of the two worst-hit areas in the west. GermanyThere, the swelling Ahr River washed away the houses and left mountains of debris on the streets.
Police said that since Wednesday, at least 156 people have been killed in the worst floods in German memory.
In Rhineland-Palatinate alone, the police reported 110 deaths and 670 injuries.At least 27 people were also killed in nearby areas Belgium.
Rescuers in both countries screened the rubble to find victims and survivors, and they are often in dangerous situations.
The historic downpour was also hit hard Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
As the water level in Rhineland-Palatinate and neighboring North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) began to recede, people’s worries shifted south to Germany’s Upper Bavaria region, where the basement was flooded by heavy rain, Saturday night Sometimes the rivers and creeks burst their banks.
A Bavarian spokeswoman said that one person died in Berchtesgaden. In Eastern Saxony, the authorities reported “significant risk situations” in several villages near the Czech border.
in Austria, First responders in Salzburg and Tyrol are on high alert for floods. The historic center of Hallein near the German border was flooded.
Merkel called the flood a “tragedy” and promised that the federal government will support the German municipalities affected by the disaster.
This disaster has brought politics to Germany. Germany will hold a general election on September 26, which will mark the end of Merkel’s 16 years in power.
Candidates competing to replace her have called for more climate action. Experts say climate change makes extreme weather events more likely.
Armin Laschet, the hard-hit governor of North Rhine Westphalia and the leader of the prime ministerial campaign, said that efforts to tackle global warming should be “accelerated.”
But on Saturday, Rashet scored an own goal when he was photographed laughing in the flooded town of Elfstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia, where the flood caused a landslide.
In the video, Raschelt can be seen chatting and joking in the background, and German President Frank-Waltersteinmeier issued a statement expressing his sympathy for the grieving family.
“Raschelt laughs, but the country is crying,” the best-selling photo daily wrote. Lashet later apologized on Twitter for the “inappropriate” moment.
The scale of the damage in Germany is gradually becoming clear. Damaged buildings are being assessed, some of which will have to be demolished, and efforts are being made to restore natural gas, electricity and telephone services.
In some areas, soldiers used armored vehicles to clean up debris that blocked the streets. In North Rhine-Westphalia, divers were sent to search for flooded houses and vehicles.
Local authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate states that dozens of people are still missing in these two states. However, they emphasized that the interruption of the communication network makes accurate assessment difficult, and the actual number of missing persons may be lower.
Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of the Interior Roger Levinz said that more than 670 people were injured.
“I have lived here my whole life, I was born here, and I have never seen anything like this,” said Gregor Degen, a baker in the devastated spa town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler near Schulder Say.
At the Belgian border, the death toll rose to 27, and many people are still missing.
European Commission President Ursula von der Lein and Prime Minister Alexander De Kro visited the flooded areas of Rochefort and Pepinster together on Saturday.
“Europe is with you,” Von der Lein tweeted afterwards. “We mourn with you, and we will rebuild with you.”
Belgium declared Tuesday a day of official mourning.
