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BERLIN >> More than 60 people died and dozens went missing when heavy floods in Germany and Belgium turned streams and roads into torrential torrents that carried cars away and caused houses to collapse.
Among those killed were nine residents of an assisted living facility for people with disabilities and two firefighters involved in rescue operations across the region.
“I mourn those who lost their lives in this catastrophe,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel on a visit to Washington and expressed her shock at the extent of the floods.
Merkel said in the White House next to US President Joe Biden that her thoughts were with all those who have lost loved ones or are still looking for them.
“I’m afraid the full extent of this tragedy will only become apparent in the coming days,” she said.
Biden also offered his condolences on the devastating loss of life and destruction caused by the flood.
“Our hearts are with the families who have lost loved ones,†he said.
At least 30 people died in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and 28 in the southern neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Belgian media reported eight deaths in that country.
Recent storms in parts of Western Europe caused rivers and reservoirs to burst their banks and triggered overnight flash floods after the saturated soil could no longer absorb water.
One of the worst hit German villages was Schuld, where several houses collapsed and dozens of people went missing.
Rescue operations were hampered by blocked roads as well as telephone and internet failures in the Eifel, a volcanic region with rolling hills and small valleys. Some villages were reduced to rubble as old brick and wooden houses could not withstand the sudden rush of water and often carried trees and other debris with them that streamed through narrow streets.
Karl-Heinz Grimm, who had helped his parents into debt, said he had never seen little Ahr fall in such a deadly stream.
“It was like madness that night,” he said.
Dozens of people had to be rescued from the roofs of their homes by rubber dinghies and helicopters. Hundreds of soldiers were deployed to support the rescue effort.
“There are dead, there are missing, there are many who are still in danger,” said the Rhineland-Palatinate governor Malu Dreyer in front of the state parliament. “We have never seen such a disaster. It’s really devastating. “
The 52nd Civil Engineers Squadron and several volunteers from the US Air Force Base Spangdahlem filled and distributed hundreds of sandbags to protect homes and businesses in the area, the US European Command said.
In Belgium, the Vesdre has overflowed and washed water through the streets of Pepinster near Liege, where a fire brigade rescue operation failed when a small boat capsized and three elderly people disappeared.
“Unfortunately, they were quickly devoured,” said Mayor Philippe Godin. “I’m afraid they are dead.”
In Verviers, prosecutors said several bodies had been found but could not confirm local media reports that four people were killed there.
In Liège, a city with 200,000 inhabitants, the Meuse overflowed its banks on Thursday and the mayor asked residents to move to higher areas.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised help, Pope Francis expressed his condolences and said the Pope prayed for the injured and missing as well as for those who have lost their livelihood.
The full extent of the damage was still unclear, as many villages were cut off by floods and landslides that made roads impassable. Many of the dead were only discovered after the flood had receded.
The authorities in the Rhein-Sieg district south of Cologne ordered the evacuation of several villages below the Steinbach reservoir for fear of a dam breaking.
The governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, paid tribute to two deceased firefighters and promised quick help.
“We do not yet know the extent of the damage, but we will not leave the communities, the affected people alone,” he said during a visit to the city of Hagen.
Laschet, a conservative running to succeed Merkel as chancellor in the fall elections, said the unusually severe storms and an earlier heatwave could be linked to climate change. Political opponents have criticized Laschet, the son of a miner, for supporting the region’s coal industry and hindering the expansion of wind power during his tenure.
Stefan Rahmstorf, professor of ocean physics at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said it was unclear whether the extreme rainfall in Germany was a direct result of the planet’s warming.
“But it can be said that such events are becoming more common because of global warming,” he told The Associated Press, noting that warmer air can absorb more water vapor, which eventually falls than rain.
“The increase in heavy rain and the decrease on days with light rain can now also be clearly seen in observation data, especially in the mid-northern latitudes, which include Germany,” said Rahmstorf.
The weakening of the summer atmosphere, causing prolonged weather patterns like heat waves or continuous rain, could also play a role, he added.
Precipitation decreased across Germany on Thursday, although the water levels on the Moselle and Rhine are expected to continue to rise.
In the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima visited the hard-hit Dutch city of Valkenburg on Thursday evening to support residents and rescue services. Floods turned the main street into a torrent of brown water that inundated homes and businesses.
The Dutch government sent around 70 soldiers to the southern province of Limburg late Wednesday to help with evacuations and sandbags.
Thousands of people in the city of Maastricht and in the villages along the Meuse were ordered to evacuate on Thursday evening because of the threat of flooding and centers for their accommodation were set up. The Meuse is the Dutch name for the Meuse.
In northeastern France, heavy rains inundated vegetable fields, many houses and a WWI museum in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon.
According to L’Est Republicain newspaper, the Aire River rose to its highest level in 30 years in some areas.
The equivalent of two months of rain fell in two days, according to the French National Meteorological Service, with flood warnings issued for 10 regions. No injuries or deaths were reported, but forecasters warned of mudslides and more rain on Friday.
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