Rescue workers and volunteers are digging through sludge in parts of western Europe, where the number of people who died in flash floods is now over 180 – and as the rushing waters reach Austria.
Floodwaters are receding in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, where many have been left with wrecked homes, hundreds have been evacuated and officials continue to fret over the state of a major dam.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has seen some of the devastation first-hand, as estimates suggest it will cost billions to repair the damage and compensate people in Germany – the country worst hit by the flooding.
Rescue workers and volunteers are digging through sludge in parts of western Europe, where the number of people who died in flash floods is now over 180 – and as the rushing waters reach Austria.
Floodwaters are receding in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, where many have been left with wrecked homes, hundreds have been evacuated and officials continue to fret over the state of a major dam.
German finance minister Olaf Scholz is due to propose an immediate aid package on Wednesday, telling the German press that at least €300m (£257m) is needed.
However Sky Europe correspondent Adam Parsons reckons “it’s going to take a lot more than that”.
The number of dead now sits at 183, although there are fears this number could still rise higher as more bodies are expected to be found as the waters lower and reveal the extent of the devastation.Advertisement
The spotlight in many areas has shifted to handing out cash donations for people to buy urgently needed goods, provide accommodation and compensation for those left homeless, and to continue hunting for survivors. Read more from Sky
The following from July 16th, 2021
Death toll climbs to over 120 in Western Europe floods
Catastrophic flooding in western Europe has killed more than 120 people, with hundreds more missing.
Huge rescue efforts continue despite rising water, landslides and power outages.
The massive flooding that hit western Germany has killed at least 103 people, damaging homes and leaving tens of thousands without power.
The following written content from DW
The office of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has announced he will visit the flooded regions of North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday together with regional head Armin Laschet (CDU) who is in the running to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor in the fall.
Steinmeier will be briefed on the current situation and the relief efforts in Erfstadt near the river Rhine. On Friday, he expressed his condolences to those suffering as a result of the floods.
“In the hour of need, our country stands together,” he said.
Dutch city on German border orders evacuation
One-tenth of the city of Venlo in the Netherlands on the German border is in the process of evacuating to avoid having to do so at night, according to the municipality. The order effects 10,000 people in 7,100 homes.
According to Dutch public broadcaster NOS, the evacuation order has been scaled back from earlier when authorities believed 16,000 in the city of 100,000 would need to leave.
Authorities asked that people shut off their gas and electric before fleeing their homes.
At a press conference at the VieCuri hospital in Venlo, officials said they were planning to evacuate 200 patients out of an abundance of caution.
While asserting the hospital faced a low risk of being flooded, Venlo officials acknowledged the Meuse River was reaching higher levels faster than expected.
“You don’t want to see the images afterwards of nurses having to be sailed back to the hospital in boats to care for patients. That’s the horror scenario we want to avoid,” board chairman IJsbrand Schouten said.
The Munich Re Group’s chief climate and geoscientist Ernst Rauch acknowledged the challenges to the insurance industry in particular posed by climate change in a statement released via the insurer’s Twitter account.
“There are clear indications that part of the growing damage cannot be explained solely by socio-economic factors but is due to climate change,” Rauch said.
Rauch added, “We have to assume that these damages will increase in frequency and intensity.”
He called for more investment in flood prevention, saying how “in the long run, the expected increased damages are much more expensive than if we start now with prevention.” Read more from DW
The following is from July 15th 2021
Germany floods: 33 dead and dozens missing
Germany floods after record rain-
At least 33 people have died in western Germany and many more are missing following severe floods, police say.
The following written content via BBC.
The worst of the flooding has been in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, where buildings and cars have been washed away.
At least six others have died in neighbouring Belgium, and the city of Liège has urged all residents to leave.
It follows record rainfall in parts of western Europe that has caused major rivers to burst their banks.
The Netherlands has also been badly hit, with flooding rivers damaging many houses in the southern province of Limburg. A number of care homes have also had to be evacuated.
Malu Dreyer, chief of Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate state, described the flooding as a “catastrophe”.
“There are dead, missing and many people still in danger,” she said. “All of our emergency services are in action round the clock and risking their own lives.”
At least 19 people died in the Ahrweiler district of Rhineland-Palatinate, after the Ahr river, which flows into the Rhine, burst its banks.
Police helicopters and hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to some areas to help stranded residents. Earlier, police said dozens of people were waiting on rooftops to be rescued.
Schools have been closed around the west of the country, while transport links have been severely disrupted.
About 25 houses are in danger of collapsing in the district of Schuld bei Adenau in the mountainous Eifel region, where a state of emergency has been declared, according to German broadcaster SWR.
It said some houses had been completely cut-off and could no longer be reached by boat.
Eight deaths were reported in the district of Euskirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia, while four people died in the Eifel region when their homes were swept away.
Meanwhile, two firefighters died on Wednesday in North Rhine-Westphalia. One drowned, while the other reportedly collapsed following a rescue operation. Read more from BBC.
