Over 1,000 Missing Following Massive Floods In Germany As Death Toll Rises
GERMANY FLOODS – An unprecedented massive floods in Germany have caused over 1,000 people to be missing or unaccounted for.
Authorities say that the recent floods were the worst flooding Germany has ever seen in decades. Currently, the most affected areas are the western states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Along with this, parts of Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands also had severe flooding. Meanwhile, in Ahrweiler, a Rhineland-Palatinate district, officials unfortunately reported over 1,3000 missing people following the flooding.
Furthermore, rescue operations became slow due to damaged infrastructure and communication woes. So far, a total of 15,000 police personnel, soldiers, and emergency service workers were deployed in the area.
Sadly, authorities warned of an increased death toll in the following days. “When you haven’t heard [from] people for such a long time… you have to fear the worst. The number of victims will likely keep rising“, Rhineland-Palatinate regional interior minister, Roger Lewentz told reporters.
Due to the massive flooding, thousands have become homeless and were forced to evacuate towns as homes were destroyed and those that are left standing are at risk of collapse. In some areas, rescuers say that the towns were devastated as if hit by a tsunami.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, currently visiting President Biden in Washington, DC, said, “My empathy and my heart go on all those who have lost their loved ones in this disaster or who are still worrying about the fate of those still missing.”
The threat to the area is not over, and more precipitation is expected in the next few days. Some authorities have blamed themselves for failure to prepare for extreme weather events like these, with Hannah Cloke telling BBC News that ‘forecasters issued alerts early during the week, but the alerts were not taken sufficiently seriously and preparations were inadequate.’
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