Flood disaster: more than 100 dead

The number of deaths in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate continues to rise – people also died from the storms in Belgium. Hundreds are still missing. The number of victims is already far greater than in the 2013 “flood of the century”.

In the flood disaster in western Germany, at least 103 people have died so far. The number is likely to increase in view of the high number of missing people. It already clearly exceeds the number of deaths in the so-called Centennial Floods of the Elbe and Danube. At that time, 21 people were killed.

At least 43 people had lost their lives in North Rhine-Westphalia, said Prime Minister Armin Laschet after a special meeting of the state cabinet in Düsseldorf. It is to be feared that the number of victims will continue to rise. Laschet described the dramatic consequences of the storm as a “flood disaster of historic proportions” and thanked all rescue workers. “The floods literally pulled the ground away from under many people’s feet,” said Laschet.

According to the Cologne police, the number of deaths rose to 24 in the Euskirchen district and six in the Rhein-Sieg district. It was initially unclear whether the fatalities feared in Erftstadt-Blessem were already included in the number. There, huge landslides had swept away houses and cars. Aerial photos show the enormous extent of the destruction.

Emergency calls came again and again from the town not far from Cologne. How many people are missing was initially unclear. After the extremely heavy rain, the river Erft overflowed its banks and flooded parts of the urban area. There had been evacuations in several villages.

60 dead in Rhineland-Palatinate

According to Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD), at least 60 people were killed in Rhineland-Palatinate. She announced this after a special session of the cabinet. “The suffering is increasing so dramatically today,” said Dreyer. It is “a national catastrophe”.

As the Koblenz police spokesman Ulrich Sopart said, the number of people missing after the flood disaster remains unclear. “Most of the cell phone network is not yet functional.” It can also be assumed that a number of people have been reported missing several times.

But people are still being saved, Sopart continues. The focus of the missions are the places Schuld, Insul and Ahrbrück. Accommodation has been set up for people who have lost their apartments and houses. It is not yet possible to estimate how many people have become homeless as a result of the devastating storm.

Several dead also in Belgium

In neighboring Belgium, which is also affected, the number of deaths has risen to twelve, according to media reports. As the public broadcaster RTBF reported, five people are still missing. Walloon Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo told the broadcaster that he feared the death toll would continue to rise. “There were hundreds of people trapped in their homes last night.”

In the Belgian city of Liège, the residents of the Meuse had been asked to leave their homes quickly because of unusually strong floods. During the night, however, the water level did not rise any further.

Rising water levels expected in Baden-Württemberg

There are new storms further south. Experts expect rising water levels on the rivers and lakes in Baden-Württemberg on Friday. In some regions roads were again closed, in the Allgäu a residential area was under water. The German Meteorological Service has already warned of rapid climbs, especially in smaller bodies of water in the southwest.

Federal government wants to put together aid package

The federal government wants to prepare extensive financial aid for the flood victims within a few days. “My house is just developing the concept for this with the Federal Chancellor and Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz,” said Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) to “Spiegel”. “If possible, it should go to the cabinet on Wednesday.”

He does not want to give details before there is a clear picture of the extent of the damage. “But you can assume that it will be a big package,” said Seehofer. During the so-called “flood of the century”, which affected eight federal states in 2013, the federal government set up a flood aid fund worth eight billion euros.