Floodwaters still rising in western Europe, death toll over 110

More than 1,000 people were missing in flood-stricken regions of western Germany and Belgium on Friday, where waters were still rising with the death toll already well over 100 and communications in some areas cut.

Entire communities lay in ruins after swollen rivers swept through towns and villages in the western German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Belgium as well as the Netherlands.

In Germany alone, 103 people have died in what is the country’s worst mass loss of life in years. The death toll is expected to rise further as more houses collapsed, while in Belgium, media said at least 14 had died.

Some 114,000 households in Germany were without power on Friday and mobile phone networks had collapsed in some flooded regions, which meant that family and friends were unable to track down their loved ones.

Further north, in Erftstadt, several houses collapsed on Friday morning, and authorities feared casualties.
The German military has deployed over 700 soldiers to support rescue efforts.

Authorities worried that further dams could overflow, spilling uncontrolled floods into communities below, and were trying to ease pressure by releasing more water from them.

Some 4,500 people were evacuated downstream from the Steinbachtal dam in western Germany, which had been at risk of a breach overnight, and a stretch of motorway was closed.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the scale and intensity of the flooding was a clear indication of climate change and demonstrated the urgent need to act, echoing an earlier message from Merkel herself.
SCHULD/ERFTSTADT, July 16 (Reuters)