At least 168 people have died as a result of torrential rains and the subsequent floods and floods that have affected in recent days, above all, Germany and Belgium, as pointed out this Saturday to a new assessment of the authorities of the two countries.
A previous report on victims of heavy rains and floods that hit parts of Central Europe reported 153 deaths.
The death toll in Rhineland-Palatinate (western Germany), where Ahrweiler county, one of the worst affected by adverse weather conditions, has risen to 98.
According to local authorities, at least 12 residents of the center for the disabled are among the victims.
The authorities warn that the number could rise as some 1,300 people in Ahrweiler County remain unavailable and missing.
Attempts to establish contact with these people are hampered by the damage to communication networks.
The death of 43 more people was also confirmed by the authorities of the neighboring state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In total, 141 people died in Germany.
After returning from a trip to Washington, USA, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the Rhineland-Palatinate region on Sunday, local authorities said.
As reported by France-Presse (AFP), citing a spokesman for the regional executive’s interior ministry, Merkel will travel to the village of Schuld, a place known as a “martyr” since almost everything in the area was destroyed by the power of water.
Merkel has already called these events a “national tragedy” and has pledged to channel all federal aid towards reconstruction.
