In Erftstadt in North Rhine-Westphalia, cars and trucks were surprised by the water on a federal highway. Corpses have not yet been found there. The number of flood deaths continues to rise.
Erfstadt – During the rescue operations on the flooded Bundesstraße 265 near Erftstadt in North Rhine-Westphalia, no fatalities were found until the evening. That said a spokesman for the Rhein-Erft district.
Divers from the German Life-Rescue Society (DLRG) were also used to check the 28 cars and trucks that had been washed over by the masses of water. The Bundeswehr was deployed with armored vehicles. On Friday it was still unclear whether all occupants would have made it out of their vehicles in time when they were surprised by the masses of water.
In the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia, the number of deaths in connection with the storm disaster has risen to 45. This was announced by a spokeswoman for the NRW Interior Ministry on Saturday evening. This means that the death toll has increased by two compared to Friday.
In some places of the devastating flood, the water is now slowly receding – but the number of deaths continues to rise. By Saturday afternoon, 98 deaths were reported from the flood hotspot Ahrweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate alone. The police in Koblenz speak of 670 injured in the Ahrweiler district. Even two days after the accident, people are still missing. A spokesman in the afternoon could not give any information about the exact number.
So far more than 140 fatalities have been found
With almost 100 confirmed dead in Rhineland-Palatinate, the total number of victims in the flood disaster in western Germany rises to at least 143. In North Rhine-Westphalia there are also four firefighters among the dead, according to the Association of Fire Brigades (VdF). In addition to two deaths in Altena and Werdohl in the Sauerland, a firefighter from Nettersheim (Euskirchen district) and one from Rheinbach (Rhein-Sieg district) were added.
Among the dead in Rhineland-Palatinate are twelve residents of a facility for people with intellectual disabilities in Sinzig. “The water reached the ceiling of the first floor within a minute,” said Matthias Mandos, the managing director of the Landesverband der Lebenshilfe Rhineland-Palatinate. The night watch still managed to bring several residents to the first floor of the dormitory. “When he wanted to get the next one, he was already too late.”
Further critical situation at the dam near Euskirchen
Thousands of rescue workers are deployed in the Eifel, among others, and more than 23,000 people helped out in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to the fire brigade and technical aid organization (THW), this also included officials from the state police, the federal police, the German armed forces and emergency services from Hesse, Lower Saxony and Hamburg.
While the situation in many areas on the left bank of the Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia remained tense on Saturday, the water levels fell significantly in other river areas. Only in the catchment area of the Ruhr did individual levels exceed the lowest information level, according to the status report of the State Environment Agency (Lanuv). The Rhine flood near Cologne peaked on Saturday night, after which the water level fell again. Even after the early warning forecast by the State Office for the Environment Rhineland-Palatinate, the risk of flooding is decreasing.
But the danger has not yet been averted everywhere. At the Steinbachtalsperre near Euskirchen there is still a risk of the dam breaking despite the falling water level. The dam was “extremely unstable” and large parts of the structure had broken away, the Cologne district government announced on Saturday. There is still an acute risk of flooding for the places below the dam. Further evacuations are therefore planned.
The extent of the destruction in the Ahr valley becomes visible
In many places in Rhineland-Palatinate, the electricity and telephone network did not work on Saturday either. The focus of the disaster is in the state in the Ahrweiler district. Bridges there have also been destroyed. Train traffic continues to be severely impaired due to the flooding. In the Ahr valley, a number of roads are closed or no longer passable.
The situation in the North Rhine-Westphalian town of Wassenberg on the border with the Netherlands remains unclear: After a dam on the Rur River broke, the Ophoven district was evacuated and around 700 people were brought to safety. The streets of the district were under water.
The Ehrang district of Trier was cleaned up as well as possible on Saturday. The first residents returned to their homes. According to the city, 670 houses are affected, with almost everything in the basement and ground floor destroyed.
The consequences of the flood are also devastating in Belgium. So far, the flood disaster has cost the lives of 27 people there. “Unfortunately, we have to expect that this number will continue to rise in the next few hours and days,” said the country’s national crisis center on Saturday. In the Netherlands, residents along the Meuse are also fighting with sandbags and protective measures against the flood. The water was expected to sink in Roermond on Sunday morning and in Venlo on Sunday evening. dpa
