Armin Laschet paid tribute to them and pledged swift help for those affected. Climate change may play role in devastating storms Two firefighters died in rescue operations in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany's most populous state. Police said four people died in separate incidents after their basements were flooded in Cologne, Kamen and Wuppertal.Īuthorities in the Rhine-Sieg county south of Cologne ordered the evacuation of several villages below the Steinbachtal reservoir amid fears a dam could break. Many of the dead were only discovered after floodwaters receded. Videos on social media showed cars floating down streets and houses partially collapsed. The full extent of the damage was still unclear, with many villages cut off by floods and landslides that made roads impassable. In Liege, a city of 200,000, the Meuse River overflowed its banks Thursday and the mayor asked people living nearby to move to higher ground.Įuropean Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to help, tweeting: "My thoughts are with the families of the victims of the devastating floods in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and those who have lost their homes." Major highways were inundated in southern and eastern parts of the country, and the railway said all trains were halted. In Verviers, the prosecutor’s office said several bodies had been found but could not confirm local media reports that four people were killed there. “Unfortunately, they were quickly engulfed,” said Mayor Philippe Godin. In Belgium, the Vesdre River spilled over its banks and sent water churning through the streets of Pepinster, near Liege, where a rescue operation by firefighters went wrong when a small boat capsized and three elderly people disappeared. air base at Spangdahlem filled and distributed hundreds of sandbags to help protect homes and businesses in the area, the U.S. The 52nd Civil Engineer squadron and several volunteers from the U.S. "There are people dead, there are people missing, there are many who are still in danger," the governor of Rhineland-Palatinate state, Malu Dreyer, told the regional parliament. Germany deployed hundreds of soldiers to assist. Related: 'Farewell visit'? Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet as she prepares to leave officeĭozens of people had to be rescued from the roofs of their houses with inflatable boats and helicopters.
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