The police have said that the death toll in Germany’s most catastrophic flooding in over 200 years has risen to at least 21 as a lot of people are still missing.
Also, this was confirmed by a BBC report which revealed that the worst of the flooding has been in Rhineland-Palatinate, where many people have been hanging on rooftops to be rescued.
No fewer than 30 people are missing in the hilly Eifel region after many homes collapsed.
The flooding occurred when the Ahr river, a river which flows into the Rhine, broke out its banks south of Bonn.
While talking aboit the flood, Malu Dreyer, Chief of the Rhineland-Palatinate state, described the flooding as a “catastrophe.”
Dreyer said: “There are dead, missing and many people still in danger,” she said. “All of our emergency services are in action round the clock and risking their own lives.”
His comments were corroborated by Armin Laschet, Premier of North Rhine-Westphalia and the conservative candidate to take over from Chancellor Angela Merkel who toured the crisis-hit region earlier in the day.
However, Merkel has expressed shock over the fatal floods in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.
She tweeted: “I am shocked by the disaster that so many people have to suffer in the flood areas. My condolences go out to the relatives of the dead and missing. I thank the many tireless helpers and emergency services from the bottom of my heart.”
Police helicopters and the army have been sent to some areas to help helpless residents.
Also, some schools have been closed, while rail and road transport links have been greatly affected around the west of Germany.
