More than 60 people were killed and dozens missing in Germany and neighboring Belgium after torrential floods turned streams and streets into raging torrents, engulfing cars and causing buildings to collapse.
Rescue workers, facing what one regional leader called a «catastrophic» situation, are working around the clock to rescue residents and retrieve the dead.
Eight deaths have been reported in Belgium, where the city of Liège has begun relocating its 200,000 residents. In Germany, the military and rescue workers raced to clear areas across the region.
At least 30 people have died, authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) said while 28 deaths were reported in the southern state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Officials have warned that many dams in the state are at risk of bursting.
«There are dead and missing and a lot of them are still in danger,» said Malo Dreyer, prime minister of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
After more than 48 hours of torrential rain, caused by the extreme low pressure system over the region, the Rhine and Mosul rivers swelled, while smaller tributaries throughout the region turned into torrents.
A small town in the Rhineland-Palatinate state, Bad Neuenaar-Arweiler, has reported 18 deaths after the Ahr River blew its banks away, with at least 70 people missing in the wider region.
«It’s like a bad movie,» resident Yvonne Glasner told local media. «We were planning to go on our vacation this weekend, and now we’re worried we might never be able to live in our house again.»
homeless
Another 20 people were reported killed in the Cologne-Bonn region, in the Northwest state, 30km north, on Thursday afternoon.
With thousands of people displaced, Bonn Mayor Katja Dorner begged locals to take part in the rescue effort: «Open your doors to the people, the city will connect you to the people who need help.»
Heavy rains and flood waters caused major transportation problems and caused power outages for at least 250,000 homes.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during a working visit in Washington, said she was «shaken» by the photos taken by Germany. «My sympathies are with the relatives of the dead and the missing,» she said. «My thanks, from the bottom of my heart, to all the tireless helpers and rescue workers.»
Extreme weather has focused attention on NRW Premier Armin Laschet, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who hopes to be Germany’s next chancellor after the general elections in September.
«For the people here, the situation is tragic, people are missing, and the state police have prepared helicopters to help with the search,» he said. «We are doing everything we can as a country to help.»
political scene
Extreme weather has changed the German political landscape in the past: Political analysts say Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s strong response to severe flooding in 2002 was an important factor in securing his re-election.
Two months before Germany’s federal elections, top politicians agreed on Thursday that floods and humanitarian tragedies are likely to focus minds on climate issues – potentially boosting the Greens’ fortunes.
«Climate change has reached Germany,» said Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulz, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). «Events like this show the power of climate change and how its consequences can affect all of us.»
Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), agreed that Germany needed to do more to prepare for «the consequences of climate change».
Leading metrology experts criticized the German public broadcaster ARD and its regional station, WDR, for broadcasting documentaries on Wednesday night rather than warning residents of the growing catastrophe.
Jörg Kachelmann, one of Germany’s most famous metrology experts, tweeted, «It hurts when those with the means to report this 24/7 weather don’t do anything to save lives, and instead go on broadcasting and let people drown.»
The metrology service DWDL accused the West German public station WDR of «ridiculous priorities»: broadcasting traffic reports on its radio stations throughout Wednesday evening – but not weather alerts. Additional Reports: AP