The death toll from floods in Germany has risen to 156, bringing the total death toll in Western Europe to 183. 110 deaths have been reported in the Rhineland-Palatinate.
“I’m afraid the death toll in the area will rise,” police said in a statement, adding that at least 670 people were injured in Rhineland-Palatinate alone.
At the same time, hundreds of people are still missing. Search-and-rescue forces are searching for survival in the affected areas of West Germany, with water levels remaining high in many cities and homes continuing to collapse in the biggest natural disaster in half a century.
More than 20,000 men and women of rescue teams have been engaged in the affected areas of the two states for the last 24 hours, with the help of the Armed Forces.
In Belgium, the death toll has risen to 27, while rescue teams continue to search for the missing. Because July 20 was declared a day of national mourning by the Prime Minister of the country, the city of Namur decided to cancel the fireworks celebration that was scheduled for July 20, for the national holiday of July 21.
In the capital of Wallonia, flags will be flown at half-mast. The city of Brussels has announced that it will cancel the events planned for the Belgian national holiday. Emergency services in the Netherlands are on full alert as flooded rivers threaten towns and villages across the southern province of Limburg.
Thousands of people have been evacuated in the past two days, while soldiers, firefighters and volunteers have been working all night to strengthen dams and prevent flooding. According to local authorities, rising water levels continue to cause flooding in the area and the situation remains critical.
Water levels in rivers around major cities like Fenlo and Rurmont have reached record levels and are not expected to rest until tomorrow evening, authorities said, creating problems with dams and other protection measures.
Many roads in and around Rurmond have been flooded, according to the ANP news agency. In Austria, firefighters are on high alert in the Salzburg and Tyrol areas.
“Heavy rains and storms are unfortunately causing extensive damage in many areas of Austria,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz said in a Twitter post.
