More than 58 people have died in Germany as of Thursday night after severe floods in Western Europe devastated many areas of the country. German Chancellor Angela Markel expressed deep sympathy for victims of a “catastrophe” whose extent will only be seen in the coming days.
Authorities in the district of Ahrweiler in western Germany informed on Thursday night that the death toll was expected to climb, and they were trying to trace about 1,300 missing people, though the high figure is due to damaged mobile phone networks.
Regional interior minister Roger Lewentz told the media outlet that “We believe there are still 40, 50 or 60 people missing, and when you haven’t heard for people for such a long time … you have to fear the worst. The number of victims will likely keep rising in the coming days.”
More than 1,000 emergency services personnel were helping the district across the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the neighboring states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg. It was too early to tell the scale of the damage, informed Ahrweiler officials.
Regarding the situation, speaking at the White House during a trip to Washington, Merkel called it a day “characterized by fear, by despair, by suffering, and hundreds of thousands of people all of a sudden faced with catastrophe”.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen pledged to help, and Pope Francis sent condolences, with his office saying the pontiff was praying for those injured and missing, as well as those who have lost their livelihoods.
