- German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the disaster-stricken areas in Germany on Sunday.
- The purpose of the visit is mainly to assess the loss and meet the survivors.
- The death toll has reached 180, 670 injured, and many more are missing.
After several days of extreme rains in Western Europe caused at least 183 deaths and dozens of missing, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the flood-stricken areas in Germany on Sunday to investigate the damage and meet with survivors.
Merkel plans to travel to the village of Schulder in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, one of the two worst-hit areas in western Germany, where the swelling Ahr River washed away houses and the streets were full of debris.
In an update on Sunday morning, the police said that since Wednesday, at least 156 people have been killed in the worst flood in German memory.
As the water levels in Rhineland-Palatinate and neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia began to recede, concerns shifted south to Germany’s Upper Bavaria, where the basement was flooded by heavy rains late Saturday , Rivers and creeks swell.
A Bavarian spokeswoman told AFP that one person had died in Berchtesgaden.
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.
“Unfortunately, heavy rain and storms have caused severe damage in several places in Austria,” Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter.
Unfortunately, heavy rains and storms caused severe damage in many parts of Austria. I want to thank all emergency service personnel and volunteers who have done everything to help! We will not leave the affected people alone and helpless, but support them to rebuild.
-Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) July 17, 2021
Merkel called the flood a “tragedy” and promised that the federal government will support the German municipalities affected by the disaster.
In a speech with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, Merkel said that she “felt sorrow for all those who lost their loved ones in this disaster.”
The government said it is working to set up a special aid fund, and the losses are expected to reach billions of euros.
“Sorry” smiled
This disaster is becoming more and more political in Germany. Germany will hold a general election on September 26, which will mark the end of Merkel’s 16 years in power.
Experts say that climate change makes such extreme weather events more likely, and candidates competing to succeed the senior leader are calling for more climate action.
Armin Laschet, the governor of the hard-hit North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) state and the leader of the prime ministerial campaign, said that efforts to tackle global warming should be “accelerated.”
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However, Rashet, who leads Merkel’s CDU, currently leading the polls, scored an own goal when he was filmed on Saturday laughing in the devastated town of Elfstadt in North Rhine-Westphalia. The flood caused landslides.
In the video, Raschelt can be seen chatting and joking in the background, and President Frank Walter Steinmeier issued a statement expressing his sympathy for the grieving family.
“Raschelt laughs and the country cries,” the best-selling photo daily wrote.
Lashet later apologized on Twitter for the “inappropriate” moment.
Divers, armored vehicles
The scale of the flood impact 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.
Read | As the death toll soars, Europe picks up rubble from the flood
“I have lived here my whole life, I was born here, and I have never seen anything like this,” Gregor Degen, a baker in the destroyed spa town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler near Schulder (Gregor Degen) said.
At the Belgian border, the death toll jumped 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 are with you in mourning, and we will be with you in reconstruction.”
Belgium declared Tuesday a day of official mourning.
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