Brussels/Berlin, July 17 (IANS)| Heavy rains have caused devastating floods in several Western European countries over the past few days, killing more than 120 people and leaving many others missing. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), some countries in the region received two days of rain for two months, severely affecting Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Cities and communities in parts of western and southern Germany were hit by devastating floods this week after heavy and incessant rains, Xinhua news agency reported. According to local officials, the death toll in the country has risen to 103, while many more are still missing. The federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate were particularly hit, killing 43 people and 60 people, respectively.
Twenty-one people died and 18 went missing on Friday due to flash floods in the south and east of the country. In the town of Verviers, near the town of Legg, devastating floods inundated the city centre, overturning cars and damaging homes and shops along the high street. Belgium’s weekly Le Vive reported that heavy rains in the Belgian provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Lige and Limburg match climate models’ predictions of warming of the Earth, suggesting a direct link with global warming.
In the neighboring Netherlands, 10,700 people were evacuated in Venlo, north of the southern Dutch province of Limburg, on Friday as a precaution due to high water levels and the risk of flooding. The Dutch government has formally assessed the floods in Limburg as a disaster, allowing victims to have clarity about whether their losses will be reimbursed by the government if their insurance does not cover it. . The Dutch king Willem-Alexander visited the city and described the situation in Limburg as ‘heartbreaking’. Due to incessant rains in Switzerland, the highest flood warning has been issued in the central parts of the country.
As of Friday, Lake Lucerne, Lake Thun and Lake Beale remained at the highest flood alert level (5) after continuous and intense rainfall throughout the week. The Swissinfo website reported that major cities such as Basel and Bern are also at high risk of flooding, with the Aare River reaching a flow rate of 540 cubic meters per second, close to the 600 level recorded in the major floods of 2005. Is.
France’s Meteorological Service warned on Friday that incessant rains were drenching the soil, posing a risk of flooding in France. Currently, 13 provinces in northern and eastern France have been put on orange alert for flooding. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated to deal with heavy floods.
(Disclaimer: This news has been published directly from news agency’s Syndicate feed. It has not been edited by AnyTV News team.)