BERLIN, July 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from devastating floods in Germany reached 133 on Saturday, police said, bringing the total number of those killed in Europe to 153.
“According to current information, 90 people lost their lives during the disaster” in the Rhineland-Palatinate region, one of the worst hit, police in the city of Koblenz said in a statement.
A further 43 people have died in the neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia, and 20 in Belgium.
Roger Lewentz, interior minister for Rheinland-Palatinate, told German newspaper Bild last night the death toll was likely to rise as emergency services continued to search the affected areas over the coming days.
In Belgium, the government last night confirmed the death toll stands at 20 – earlier reports had said 23 – with more than 21,000 people left without electricity in one region.
Calling the floods “possibly the most catastrophic our country has ever seen,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo declared Tuesday a day of national mourning.
Luxembourg and the Netherlands were also hammered by heavy rains, inundating many areas and forcing thousands to be evacuated in the city of Maastricht. — NNN-AGENCIES
