Sun 18 July 2021:
More than 156 people were killed and over 650 injured in flooding in western Germany, officials said on Sunday.
Some 110 people were killed in the worst-hit Ahrweiler district south of Cologne. More bodies are expected to be found as the flood waters recede, according to police.
Days of torrential rainleft rivers overflowing, leading to water surging through streets – lifting up cars, tearing up power lines, and collapsing homes.
Over the past several days the floods, which have mostly hit the states of Rhineland Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, have cut off entire communities from power and communications. In North Rhine-Westphalia at least 45 were killed.
In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia, officials confirmed 45 deaths.
Germany’s worst floods in more than 200 years triggered by midweek heavy rains caused widespread devastation in various towns and villages in the western regions bordering Belgium and France.
On Saturday, heavy rains hit the eastern state of Saxony and the Upper Bavaria region, forcing evacuation of hundreds of residents. At least one person was killed in the flooded area, local media reported.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit the flood-hit region of Rhineland-Palatinate today, as her coalition government is working on a financial aid package to help flood victims.
Germany’s public television ARD has also launched a donation campaign to raise money for the victims.
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told weekly Bild am Sonntag that the government would be readying more than 300 million euros ($354 million) in immediate relief and billions of euros to fix collapsed houses, streets and bridges.
