German floods kill at least 133, search for survivors continues

Reuters

Published Jul 17, 2021 02:57AM ET

Updated Jul 17, 2021 04:46AM ET

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Rescue workers searched flood-ravaged parts of western Germany for survivors on Saturday as water levels remained high in many towns and houses continued to collapse in the country's worst natural disaster in half a century.

At least 133 people have died in the flooding, including some 90 people in the Ahrweiler district south of Cologne, according to police estimates on Saturday. Hundreds of people are still missing.

Around 700 residents were evacuated late on Friday after a dam broke in the town of Wassenberg near Cologne, authorities said.

Over the past several days the floods, which have mostly hit the states of Rhineland Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, have cut off entire communities from power and communications.

The flooding has also hit parts of Belgium and the Netherlands. At least 20 people have died in Belgium.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Armin Laschet, state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, were scheduled to visit Erftstadt, one of the hardest hit towns, on Saturday.