Status: 07/15/2021 5:13 p.m.
In North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, rescue and recovery operations are ongoing after the severe storms. More than 40 fatalities have so far been rescued. Numerous people are still missing.
The extent of the violent storms that swept across Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia with heavy rain cannot yet be foreseen. Rescue operations are still ongoing in numerous places. The number of recovered fatalities has already risen to 42 and is expected to increase.
After days of rain in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, brooks had turned into raging rivers and devastated a number of towns. Power outages paralyzed the regions and dams threatened to overflow. The water levels rose on the Rhine, Ruhr, Moselle and smaller rivers.
Numerous people are still missing
According to the police, at least 18 people died in the Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler area alone. Numerous residents are also still considered missing, entire villages are cut off from the outside world. In the morning, the police spoke of more than 70 people who were still missing in the storm areas. In some cases, people were only able to save themselves on the roofs of their houses and had to be brought to safety by helicopter.
The Cologne police reported at least 20 fatalities from the Cologne-Bonn area. Two bodies were recovered in the cathedral city, in the district of Euskirchen there were so far 15 dead. At times, communication collapsed completely here. Not even the emergency number 112 could be reached anymore. The police in Rheinbach reported three fatalities. Not all of the sighted dead have been recovered and identified yet.
There are more dead in Solingen and in the Unna district – people who were torn away by the floods or died in their flooded cellars.
Circles call for a disaster
The Ahrweiler district declared a disaster. In the guilt belonging to the circle, parts of the place almost sank in the floods with rubble and mud. According to the police, several houses collapsed, “numerous” others are in danger of collapsing.
Information point set up for information
The police set up a telephone information point for relatives. People from the region were asked to provide the police with videos and photos that could provide clues about the missing and dead. In addition, the police asked people to keep escape routes clear, as onlookers had blocked the operation.
The disaster is meanwhile also in the Rhein-Erft district in North Rhine-Westphalia. The authorities called on the municipalities belonging to the district to “prepare and carry out the necessary civil protection measures, in particular evacuations and accommodation”.
Bundeswehr and THW support rescue work
In both federal states, countless rescue workers and volunteers were deployed to help those affected, including forces from the Bundeswehr and the Technical Relief Agency (THW). Rescue helicopters from Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse as well as the Bundeswehr support the work.
THW President Gerd Friedsam spoke of around 2500 volunteer workers who fought against the effects of the storm. The rain has meanwhile subsided in large parts of the country, but the situation remains very tense.
In the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Hagen alone, around 440 firefighters and THW and 100 armed forces were deployed. NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) traveled to the town during the day to get an idea of the storm damage. The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) spoke of “devastating” effects. Chancellor Angela Merkel was “shocked” by the disaster. She is currently in the United States.
Blocked train routes and highways
Deutsche Bahn reported delays and train cancellations. Several routes are not passable, such as the Cologne-Wuppertal-Hagen section, the Cologne-Koblenz route via Bonn and international long-distance traffic to and from Brussels. In addition, numerous motorway sections are affected, including parts of the A1, the A44 at Kreuz Düsseldorf, the A61 on several sections and the A553 near Brühl.