Floods in Germany.
More than 50 people have died in Germany as of Thursday night after severe floods in Western Europe devastated several areas of the country.
Over the past 24 hours, officials have determined that 58 people died across the nation — concentrated in southwestern state Rhineland-Palatinate and western state North Rhine-Westphalia — and 1,300 are missing,TheWashington PostandNew York Timesreported on Thursday.
At least 11 people in Belgium have died as a result of the extreme weather, officials said, theNew York TimesandBBCreported. The flooding has also affected the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland, and warnings were issued in areas of France.
In addition to lives lost, the flooding washed some people’s homes away, while some German citizens have been left awaiting rescue from their rooftops. Power and cell phone signals were cut off in dozens of communities.
Firefighters, helicopter personnel, police, emergency responders and military are working in a joint effort to save those reported missing, according to theNew York Times.
Germany floods.
“My sympathy goes to the relatives of the dead and missing,” she said. “I grieve for those who have lost their lives in this disaster.”
Merkel, 66, added, “We still don’t know the number. But it will be many.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Heavy rain and flooding' doesn’t capture what happened,” she said of the natural disaster.
The downpour of rain marked levels of precipitation thathave not been recorded in some areas for 100 years, German weather service spokesperson Andreas Friedrich told CNN. “In some areas we’ve seen more than double the amount of rainfall which has caused flooding and unfortunately some building structures to collapse,” he said.
Climate activist Greta Thunbergtweeted, “Deadly heatwaves, floods, storms, wildfires, droughts, crop failures… This is not ‘the new normal’. We’re at the very beginning of a climate and ecological emergency, and extreme weather events will only become more and more frequent.”
“My thoughts are with the families of the victims of the devastating floods in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and those who have lost their homes,” shetweeted. “The E.U. is ready to help.”
source: people.com
