At least nine people have died and many more are missing as western Germany contends with the effects of massive flooding. Follow DW for the latest.
Many people are still missing in the town of Schuld after six buildings collapsed
At least nine people have died in parts of western Germany amid heavy rains and flooding, local police said on Thursday.
About 30 people were missing after six houses collapsed in Germany’s western state of Rhineland-Palatinate following hours of torrential rain. About 25 more buildings in the Schuld region were at the risk of caving in, local police said.
“We currently have an unclear number of people on roofs who need to be rescued,” a spokesperson for the Koblenz police said. Reports suggest about 50 people have been trapped on roofs to escape the flooding.
“There are many places where fire brigades and rescue workers have been deployed. We do not yet have a very precise picture because rescue measures are continuing,” the spokesperson said.
Rescue crews in boats and helicopters are trying to reach people stranded by the flooding
Rescue personnel among the dead
As emergency workers struggle to evacuate people, two firemen were killed in the line of duty in the towns of Altena and Wedohl in North Rhine-Westphalia. Two men, aged 77 and 82, died as their basements got flooded in the cities of Kamen and Wuppertal, police said.
Heavy rains lashed western Germany on Wednesday, causing massive property damage and prompting mass evacuations. Several motorways were closed.
Rhineland-Palatinate’s Vulkaneifel district was forced to declare a state of emergency as several areas were not accessible due to the torrential rain.
“The situation is very serious, we have many flooded roads and villages that are no longer accessible,” District Administrator Julia Gieseking said from the town of Daun late Wednesday.
She said the state of emergency would allow the military to join relief efforts.
The German Army sent over 230 soldiers and heavy machinery to help clear streets affected by flooding.
Power supply cut
About 200,000 households in western Germany were left without electricity, the country’s biggest power distribution grid company Westnetz said, as flooding continues.
The company’s grid supplies around 7.5 million in large parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate with power, gas, water and heat.
“We are trying to resolve the situation with all available hands on deck,” a spokesperson for the company said in response to an inquiry.
Heavy rains to continue
The German Weather Service has warned that southwestern parts of the country could expect heavy rainstorms on Thursday, with continuous downpour until Friday evening.
“We haven’t seen a disaster like this. It’s just devastating,” Rhineland-Palatinate’s state premier Malu Dreyer told the regional parliament, which held a minute’s silence for those affected by the floods.
“There are dead, there are missing, there are many who are still in danger,” she said.
