At least 122 people have died and hundreds more have disappeared in western Europe after floods caused by rain. Record rainfall caused rivers to overflow their banks destroying the region. In Germany, where the death toll is now over 100, Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a strong and ongoing battle with this drastic change of weather. In Belgium, on the other hand, 22 deaths have been confirmed so far, while the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland have also been affected.
In Germany, the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia were the hardest hit. Scientists have repeatedly warned that man-made climate change will bring impulses of extreme rainfall such as this. In the western German district of Ahrweiler, up to 1,300 people are missing, authorities say. A local government spokeswoman said the mobile networks were out of use making it impossible to contact many people. The village of Schuld (population 700 inhabitants) is almost completely destroyed. In the town of Erfstadt-Blessem, near Cologne, floodwaters caused a series of houses to collapse.
