The death toll from devastating floods in some parts of West Germany and Belgium has exceeded 90, as hundreds of people who are still missing are still being searched.
Kyiv. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – July 16, 2021 – International News
Authorities in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate said 50 people had died there, including at least nine people living in a home for the elderly with disabilities.
In the neighboring region of North Rhine-Westphalia, authorities said the death toll had reached 30, but warned that it was not definitive. About 1,300 people are still missing, although authorities said attempts to contact them could be blocked by badly blocked roads and disrupted telephone communications.
North Rhine-Westphalia Governor Armin Laschet convened an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Friday. The way the 60-year-old politician is coping with the fight against floods is seen by many as a test of his ambitions to replace Merkel as chancellor in Germany’s September 26 national election.
The German army sent 900 soldiers to assist in the rescue and response.
Thousands of people are left homeless after their homes were destroyed or threatened by the authorities, including several villages around the Steinbach Reservoir, which experts say could collapse under flood pressure.
In the neighborhood – in Belgium – most of the drowned were found in the area of Liege, where there was heavy rain. According to preliminary estimates, the death toll in Belgium has risen to 12, with 5 people still missing.
Sudden floods this week followed days of torrential rains that turned streams and streets into torrents that caused houses to collapse across the region.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Joe Biden have expressed regret over the deaths during a press conference at the White House.
The German leader, who is on a farewell trip to Washington, said she feared that “the full scale of this tragedy will become apparent only in the coming days.”
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Source: Ukrgate
