Floods leave at least 126 dead in Europe

SCHULD, Germany: The death toll from devastating floods in Europe soared to at least 126 on Friday, most in western Germany where emergency responders were frantically searching for missing people.

Unsuspecting residents were caught completely off guard by the torrent dubbed the “flood of death” by Germany’s top-selling daily Bild. Streets and houses were submerged by water in some areas, while cars were left overturned on soaked streets after flood waters passed. Some districts were completely cut off from the outside world.

“Everything was under water within 15 minutes,” Agron Berischa, a 21-year-old decorator from Bad Neuenahr in Rhineland-Palatinate state, told AFP.

“Our flat, our office, our neighbours’ houses, everywhere was under water.”

Residents were shocked by the damage as floodwaters continued to rise overnight.

“We rushed home and found ourselves waist-deep in water. And overnight another 50 centimetres were added,” said Christoph Buecken in Eschweiler in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Adding to the devastation, several more people were feared dead in a landslide in northern Germany on Friday triggered by floods.

Hundreds were unaccounted for in the country, while the death toll in Belgium jumped to 23 with more than 21,000 people left without electricity in one region. Luxembourg and the Netherlands were also hammered by heavy rains, inundating many areas and forcing thousands to be evacuated in the city of Maastricht.

In Germany’s hard-hit Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate, several houses collapsed completely, drawing comparisons to the aftermath of a tsunami. At least 24 people were confirmed dead in Euskirchen, one of the worst-affected towns just to the north. “I fear that we will only see the full extent of the disaster in the coming days,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said late Thursday from Washington, where she met with President Joe Biden.

“My empathy and my heart go out to all of those who in this catastrophe lost their loved ones, or who are still worrying about the fate of people still missing.” The number of casualties in Rhineland-Palatinate has reached 60, bringing the national toll to at least 103, authorities said Friday. In Ahrweiler, around 1,300 people were unaccounted for, although local authorities told Bild the high number was likely due to damaged phone networks.

Regional interior minister Roger Lewentz told local media that up to 60 people were believed to be missing, “and when you haven’t heard from people for such a long time... you have to fear the worst”. “The number of victims will likely keep rising in the coming days,” he added.

Several people were dead and missing after a landslide in Erftstadt-Blessem in NRW, local officials said Friday.

Some parts of western Europe received up to two months’ worth of rainfall in two days on soil that was already near saturation, according to the World Meteorological Organisation.