Source: CCTV Finance
In recent days, many parts of western Germany have been flooded due to continuous heavy rains. According to German media reports, the Floods in Germany have killed at least 157 people and injured 670 others. Of these, 110 people were killed in the Arville region, the hardest-hit area, and at least 45 in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition, Saxony and Bavaria were also hit by floods on the night of the 17th, resulting in the death of 2 people.
The number of people killed in the German flood rose to 157
At present, in some of the hardest-hit areas, a large number of houses have been destroyed, communication towers have collapsed, electricity and communication networks have been cut off, and local governments continue to have difficulty contacting unaccounted for. On the 17th, in the Evtsstadt region of North Rhine-Westphalia, where water levels in several towns were still high, rescuers, with the help of divers, stepped up searches for trapped vehicles on flooded highways to ensure that no one was trapped in them.
On the 17th local time, German President Steinmeier and Governor Rashett of North Rhine-Westphalia inspected the Erftstadt area to comfort rescue workers and volunteers. Steinmeier described the flood as a huge tragedy, and he expected reconstruction funds to reach billions of euros. According to German media reports, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit some of the most affected towns in the Ahrweiler area of Lefa state on the 18th local time to inspect the disaster.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said that the federal government will provide financial support for the disaster areas as soon as possible, and a package of relief plans will be submitted to the cabinet for consideration on the 21st.
Germany: Thousands of people in Arweiler are missing, and many places are in ruins
According to reports, more than a thousand people in The hard-hit area of Arweiler have disappeared during the flood, and many parts of the town have been in ruins.
Floods "engulfed" small German towns and suffered from ancient books and wines
In a small town in the Arweiler region of rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany, the hardest hit area of the flood, rescue work is still being stepped up on the 17th. Although the flood waters have receded, the streets are still muddy, houses and shops are devastated, and many businesses have suffered heavy losses.
There is an antique bookstore in the town, founded in 1988, and now the shelves are scattered on the ground, and some of them have even been washed outside the store by the flood, and the books are covered with mud and unrecognizable. The antique bookseller Muster is desperately trying to rescue his collection, and it makes him feel extremely sad to see his treasures destroyed.
Wolfgang Khust, a German antique bookseller: I have books published in 1510, 1520, and even earlier books, they are all orphan books, and there are probably more than 150 books that were destroyed by the flood, and they are basically only found in libraries, not even on the Internet, they are really rare.
The Arweiler region is also a famous wine region in Germany, and some local vintners have just entered the new goods this year, but they have encountered floods. A wine merchant in the town sighed with tears in his eyes, it was difficult to recognize the scene in front of him, and everything was completely destroyed.
Michael Lang, German vintner: I can only try to salvage some of the documentation, but inside the store, the wine bottles and decorations have been destroyed by floodwaters, broken glass has been hit the streets, things have happened, we have to overcome these and continue the clean-up work.
Floods in Belgium have killed 27 people and 103 have gone missing
In addition to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands were also affected by heavy rainfall, with floods. Of these, floods in southeastern Belgium have killed at least 27 people and 103 are missing. On the 17th local time, the Belgian prime minister said that he had applied to the European Commission for assistance funds to help rebuild the disaster area.
On the 17th local time, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croix has rushed to the disaster area in eastern Belgium near the German border. On the same day, rescue work continued in the hard-hit provinces of southern Belgium. At present, the water level of the main local rivers has maintained a downward trend, and many rivers have lifted the flood warning. However, the floods have affected more than 20,000 people in Belgium from power outages, and electricity and running water supply has yet to be restored in places such as Namur and Luxembourg. Belgian Prime Minister De Crowe said he had applied to the European Commission for aid to help rebuild the affected areas. As the floods receded, many local residents began to clean up and rebuild.
On the 17th, the Dutch caretaker cabinet Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that no one in the Netherlands has died due to floods, several people have been injured, and the Netherlands has opened the emergency fund to some disaster areas. Floods receded in much of the southern Netherlands, and residents began to clean up the affected areas. Thousands of local residents evacuated by flooding were allowed to return to their homes.