More than 50 Dead and Dozens Missing After Heavy Storms in Germany Cause Flash Floods

[Meatpie]

At least 50 people have died and many more are missing following severe floods in western Germany, police say.

The worst of the flooding has been in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where around 50 people have been waiting on rooftops to be rescued.

At least 30 people are missing in the hilly Eifel region after several homes collapsed, broadcaster SWR reports.

Much of the flooding was triggered when the Ahr river, which flows into the Rhine, burst its banks south of Bonn.

Malu Dreyer, chief of the 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."

Police helicopters and the army have been deployed to some areas to help stranded residents.

Some schools have been closed, while rail and road transport links have been severely disrupted around the west of the country.

Many houses in Schuld bei Adenau are in danger of collapsing

About 25 houses are in danger of collapsing in the district of Schuld bei Adenau in the Eifel region, where a state of emergency has been declared, according to SWR.
It said some houses had been completely cut-off and could no longer be reached by boat.

Four people died in the Eifel region when their homes were swept away in the early hours of Thursday, police said.
Meanwhile, two firefighters died on Wednesday in the neighbouring state of North Rhine-Westphalia. One drowned, while the other reportedly collapsed following a rescue operation.

Neighbouring Belgium has also been hit by flash floods, and dramatic video showed cars being swept away along a street in the city of Verviers.

Almost 2,000 people have been forced to evacuate in the town of Chaudfontaine, the Le Soir newspaper reported.
Rail services in the southern half of Belgium have been suspended because of the extreme weather.

In the Netherlands, the province of Limburg has been left heavily flooded following downpours overnight. Power
Forecasts suggest more heavy rain is due in much of Germany and Belgium on Thursday and Friday.

Experts say that climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, but linking any single event to global warming is complicated.

Germany floods: Dozens killed after record rain in Germany and Belgium

The two countries and the Netherlands experience widespread devastation after record rainfall.

www.bbc.com

 

[Meatpie]

At least six people have died in Belgium, where rivers in the French-speaking region of Wallonia have burst their banks.

 

[Meatpie]

Flood damage in Bad Muenstereifel, Germany.

 

[Meatpie]

Dramatic video shows cars being swept away along a street in the city of Verviers, Belgium.

Residents of Liège, Belgium's third-largest urban area after Brussels and Antwerp, have been ordered to evacuate. Those unable to leave should move to the upper floors of their buildings.

 

[SoldierTom]

Hello everybody,
I'm still alive. It was a terrible day. With an incredible amount of rain. But in the night the water came. My hometown was hit. For four days I had no internet and only very limited mobile communications. Entire villages are no longer habitable. 15 dead in my home district alone. The number will increase. A dam threatens to break in my city. But it looks like that one can avert this disaster.
Today is the first day I have internet. I'm fine, the water stoped 500m from my apartment. Others will not have electricity for weeks.

 

[metalmachine]

Hello everybody,
I'm still alive. It was a terrible day. With an incredible amount of rain. But in the night the water came. My hometown was hit. For four days I had no internet and only very limited mobile communications. Entire villages are no longer habitable. 15 dead in my home district alone. The number will increase. A dam threatens to break in my city. But it looks like that one can avert this disaster.
Today is the first day I have internet. I'm fine, the water stoped 500m from my apartment. Others will not have electricity for weeks.

It must be horrible when something like that happens nearby. We always tend to think that this always happens in other places. I hope everything goes well. All the best

 

[Frazeeme]

Glad you are OK. I live in flash flood zone and have seen too many disasters like this. One day it rained over 20" in about 5 hours. Our infrastructure is designed to handle 4" rainfalls. We have some warning systems and engineering to reduce the damage, but nature is still powerful enough to overwhelm that. It is shocking to witness one of these floods and devastating when you are personally effected. Hopefully this is a one off experience for Germany.

 

[Meatpie]

Oh no man I am so sorry and in shock to hear you were so badly affected people here are in shock from the news footage and pics coming from Germany horrible situation still as other said the most important thing is that you are ok and not injured.

I am deeply disturbed by these events and from your post I was wondering why you didn't log in and thought of you often these last couple of days.

Hope your country is able to recover quickly from this horrific disaster.

When I posted this thread I really had no idea CDG elite members were in the area thanks for posting and update.

You are welcome to share photos, videos and experience how is recovery going in your area?

 

[Meatpie]

And just for the record The 2021 European floods are the deadliest floods in Europe since the Val di Stava dam collapse in Italy in 1985 which killed 268.

Source Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_European_floods