Death toll from Europe floods tops 150 as water recedes

Debris from houses and trees surrounds houses in Schuld, Germany, Friday, July 16, 2021. Two days before the Ahr river overflowed its banks after heavy rain fell leaving many dead and Hundreds of people are missing. (AP Photo / Michael Probst)

A resident throws damaged items through a window after flooding in Ensival, Verviers, Belgium, Friday, July 16, 2021. Severe flooding in Germany and Belgium has turned streams and streets into Tornadoes swept away cars and collapsed houses. (AP Photo / Francisco Seco)

A Bundeswehr Leopard armored vehicle operates in Schuld, Germany, to clear debris caused by inclement weather on Friday, July 16, 2021. The community in the Ahrweiler district has been hit hard by the storm. storm. Among the German villages hardest hit is Schuld, where several houses have collapsed and dozens of people have yet to be found. (Thomas Frey/dpa via AP)

Water flows through Lörrach-Tumringen, Germany, after a storm, Friday, July 16, 2021. Masses of water have flowed down Lucke and Tüllinger Berg after a heavy thunderstorm and have filled various vaults. Severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into violent tornadoes that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse. (Kristoff Meller/dpa via AP)

A crashed fire truck is stuck in a hole in the road in Bad Neuenahr, Germany, Friday, July 16, 2021. Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in Bad Neuenahr in the Rhineland-Palatinate as well as the entire Ahrweiler district. Severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into violent tornadoes that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse. (Philipp von Ditfurth / dpa via AP)

A demolished bridgehead is seen on the banks of the river Ahr next to the Steigenberger hotel in Bad Neuenahr, Germany, Friday, July 16, 2021. Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in Bad Neuenahr in the Rhineland-Palatinate as well. like the entire district of Ahrweiler. (Philipp von Ditfurth / dpa via AP)

A car washed away by flood water hangs from a tree while the Ahr river can be seen in the background in Bad Neuenahr, Germany, July 16, 2021. Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in Bad Neuenahr in the Rhineland -Palatinate as well as the entire district of Ahrweiler. Severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into violent tornadoes that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse. (Philipp von Ditfurth / dpa via AP)

A flooded car leans against a tree while the Ahr river can be seen in the background, in Bad Neuenahr, Germany, Friday, July 16, 2021. Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in Bad Neuenahr in the Rhineland-Palatinate as well as in the entire Ahrweiler district. Severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into violent tornadoes that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse. (Philipp von Ditfurth / dpa via AP)

BERLIN (AP) – The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Western Europe rose above 150 on Saturday as rescuers worked to clear the devastation and prevent further damage.

More than 90 people are believed to have died in western Germany’s Ahrweiler district, one of the worst-affected areas, police said, and more casualties were feared. On Friday, authorities gave the death toll for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where Ahrweiler is located.

Another 43 people were confirmed dead in the neighboring state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous. Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported that the death toll in Belgium had risen to 27 on Saturday.

By Saturday, water had receded across most of the affected areas, but officials were concerned that more bodies could be found in washed up cars and trucks.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had planned to travel on Saturday to Erftstadt, southwest of Cologne, where a rescue effort was underway on Friday as people were trapped as the ground gave way and homes Theirs crashed. Officials are concerned that some people have failed to escape, but as of Saturday morning there were no confirmed casualties.

Many areas still do not have electricity and phone service.

In addition to Germany and Belgium being the worst affected, the southern regions of the Netherlands were also affected by major flooding. And with heavy rains in Switzerland causing several rivers and lakes to burst their banks, the Lucerne city government had to close several pedestrian bridges over the Reuss River.

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