Floods in Western Europe cause more than 20 deaths and dozens of missing-National

More than 20 people died and dozens were missing Germany With neighbors Belgium After the flooding, streams and streets turned into torrential torrents, washed away cars and caused buildings to collapse.

The storms that have swept parts of Western Europe in recent days have caused rivers and reservoirs to burst their banks, leading to flooding because the soil soaked by rain cannot absorb more water.

Authorities in the Euskirchen district in western Germany said on Thursday that eight people had died as a result of the flood. Telephone and Internet connections in parts of the county southwest of Cologne were disrupted, which hindered rescue operations.

Police in the western city of Koblenz said four people died in Ahrweiler County. According to reports, several houses in the village of Schuld in the Eifel collapsed overnight, and as many as 70 people are reported missing.

There are also dozens of people trapped on the roofs of their houses waiting for rescue. The authorities used inflatable boats and helicopters, and the Germans dispatched 200 soldiers to assist in the rescue operation.

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.”

Across the Belgian border, the Wedder River broke through its embankment, and a large amount of water flowed through the streets of Pepinster near Liège, destroying some buildings with its destructive power.

“Several houses collapsed,” Mayor Philip Godin told RTBF Network. It is still unclear whether all residents will be able to escape unharmed.

A local governor told the RTBF network that in the east of Eupen on the German border, a man reportedly died after being washed away by a torrent. According to reports, another man has disappeared in eastern Belgium, where water levels in some towns have risen to unprecedented levels, and the center has turned into a raging river.

Major highways were flooded, and in the south and east of the country, the railway department said all traffic had stopped.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Lein promised to help those affected.

She tweeted: “My heart is with the families of the victims of the devastating floods in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and those who have lost their homes.” “The European Union is ready to help.”

After many villages were rendered impassable by floods and landslides, the extent of damage to the entire area remains unclear. Videos posted on social media showed cars floating on the streets and houses partially collapsed in some places.

Many of the dead were found only after the flood receded again. The police said four people were killed in separate incidents after the basements in Cologne, Carmen and Wuppertal were flooded. The authorities warned that a dam there could rupture.

Authorities in the county of Rhine-Sieg, south of Cologne, ordered the evacuation of several villages below the Steinbachtal Reservoir because they feared that the dam there might also burst.

On Wednesday, a firefighter drowned in a rescue operation in the western German town of Altena, and another firefighter collapsed during a rescue operation at a power plant in Werdohl-Elverlingsen. Authorities say a man disappeared in the eastern town of Jochstadt after he disappeared while trying to protect his property from rising waters.

Most of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, has suspended rail connections. Governor Armin Laschet will succeed Angela Merkel as prime minister in the German general election this fall, and is expected to visit the flood-stricken city of Hagen later on Thursday.

The German Meteorological Agency DWD predicts that the rainfall will ease on Thursday, but there may still be local storms.

According to Dutch media reports, authorities in the southern Dutch town of Valkenburg near the German-Belgian border evacuated a nursing home and a hospice hospital overnight. Flooding turned the main street of the tourist town into a river.

Late Wednesday, the Dutch government sent about 70 soldiers to the southern province of Limburg to help with tasks, including transporting evacuees and filling sandbags when the river bursts.

Part of the busiest highway in the Netherlands was closed due to flooding threatening to flood the road. Dutch media showed that with the help of bulldozers, a group of holidaymakers were rescued from the hotel window.

This week, unusually heavy rains also flooded large areas in northeastern France, causing trees to collapse and dozens of roads were forced to close. Local broadcaster France Bleu reported that the train route to Luxembourg was interrupted and firefighters evacuated dozens of people from their homes near the Luxembourg-German border and the Marne region.

According to data from the French National Meteorological Agency, the rainfall in some areas was equivalent to two months in the past one or two days. With the ground already saturated, the service predicted more downpours on Thursday and issued flood warnings for 10 areas.

At the same time, high temperatures in parts of northern Europe are expected to reach 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher on Thursday.

The night between Wednesday and Thursday is the hottest night in history. Finnish weather service company Foreca said on Thursday that the mercury temperature reached 24.2 degrees Celsius (75.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Climate activist Greta Thunberg said on Twitter that the extreme weather in recent days should not be regarded as the “new normal.”

“We are in the early stages of a climate and ecological emergency, and extreme weather events will only become more frequent,” she said on Twitter.