Storms in Europe. Nine dead and dozens of missing persons in Germany

CAbout 70 people went missing in Adenau, Germany, after several houses collapsed overnight due to the force of the water, killing at least nine people, including two firefighters.

The municipal authorities of Ahrweiler in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate in the south-west of the country have confirmed the deaths of four people and the disappearance of another 30 people.

Also killed two firefighters who participated in the rescue.

“There is [ainda] an undetermined number of people on rooftops to be rescued, “a Koblenz police spokesman told Reuters.

The same source added that several rescue teams, including aircraft, were dispatched to the scene. According to local authorities, at least six buildings in Arweiler collapsed due to the rains, further affecting the stability of another 20 buildings.

Rail, road and river transport were interrupted following the suspension of navigation on the Rhine.

Yesterday, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert called the images of the regions hardest hit by the flood as “gruesome.”

“While not all events, not all floods or local incidents are related to climate change, many scientists tell us that the frequency, intensity and regularity with which this happens is a consequence of climate change,” Seibert said.

In the city of Hagen, where the water in the streets reaches the thighs, according to eyewitnesses, in order to avoid short circuits, the electricity was prevented from being cut off.

The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and the candidate for Angela Merkel’s office Armin Laschet will visit Hagen today.

In this city, nursing home users were removed from the site after the ground floor was flooded.

In Düsseldorf, residents of the Grafenberg district had to be evacuated, and the road was closed after the tunnel was flooded. Railway transport in the region has also suffered.

In Cologne, the Rhine River overflowed its banks and flooded part of the Deutz district.

The Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Royle called the situation “extremely difficult”.

Floods in Europe

Firefighters in the neighboring Czech Republic received 800 calls on Wednesday about incidents ranging from fallen trees to flooded basements. The highway connecting the capital Prague with the east of the country was partially flooded overnight. Thousands of families were left without electricity.

In some cities in eastern Belgium, houses are flooded with mud. Dutch authorities have warned that heavy rains in the southern province of Limburg could turn waterways into dangerously fast streams. The boat owners were advised to move away from the Meuse River due to the strong current and debris.

In Switzerland, authorities raised the flood warning level on Lake Lucerne to the highest level and banned all shipping.

France’s National Meteorological Service today issued warnings for five regions in the country’s northeast. Most of France experienced unusually cool and humid summers, while parts of Southeast Europe experienced heat waves.

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