More than 110 people and counting have died, and dozens are missing in Germany and Belgium as heavy flooding on Thursday turned streams and streets into raging torrents that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse, prompting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to state: “‘Heavy rain and flooding’ doesn’t capture what happened.”
A shocked Merkel added, “I grieve for those who have lost their lives in this disaster. We still don’t know the number, but it will be many!”
The flooding was caused by recent storms across parts of western Europe that made rivers and reservoirs burst their banks, triggering flash floods after the saturated soil couldn’t absorb any more water.
Authorities in the western German region of Euskirchen reported eight deaths from the floods. Rescue operations were hampered by phone and internet outages in parts of the county, southwest of Cologne.
Police said 18 people died in Ahrweiler county, south of Euskirchen and up to 70 people were reported missing after several homes collapsed in the village of Schuld in the Eifel, a volcanic region of rolling hills and small valleys.
Many villages were reduced to rubble as old brick and timber houses couldn’t withstand the sudden rush of water, often carrying trees and other debris as it gushed through narrow streets.
Dozens of people had to be rescued from the roofs of their houses with inflatable boats and helicopters. Germany deployed hundreds of soldiers to assist and several villages below the Steinbachtal reservoir were evacuated amid fears a dam could break.
“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. “We have never seen such a disaster. It’s really devastating.”
In Belgium, the Vesdre River overflowed its banks and sent water churning through the streets, collapsing homes in Pepinster, near Liege. Major highways were inundated in southern and eastern parts of the country and trains were halted.
Besides Belgium and Germany, flooding is also afflicting Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and northern France, where the equivalent of two months of rain has fallen in some areas over two days, according to the French national weather service, with flood warnings issued for 10 regions.
The full extent of the damage is still unclear because many villages have been cut off by floods and landslides that made roads impassable. Videos on social media showed cars floating down streets and houses partially collapsed. And many of the dead are being discovered as floodwaters recede.
Rainfall eased later Thursday across Germany, although water levels on the Mosel and Rhine rivers were expected to continue rising. French forecasters warned of mudslides and more rain on Friday.