: Europe Flood Death Toll Tops 150 as Many Remain Missing #WorldNEWS BERLIN — Rescue workers labored to clear up damage laid bare by receding water Saturday as the death toll from disastrous flooding

Europe Flood Death Toll Tops 150 as Many Remain Missing #WorldNEWS
BERLIN — Rescue workers labored to clear up damage laid bare by receding water Saturday as the death toll from disastrous flooding in Western Europe rose above 150 and thoughts turned to the lengthy job of rebuilding communities devastated in minutes.
Police said that more than 90 people are now known to have died in western Germany’s Ahrweiler county, one of the worst-hit areas, and more casualties are feared. Another 43 people were confirmed dead in neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state. Belgium’s national crisis center put the countrys confirmed death toll at 24 and said it expects the number to rise.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=true]
Days of heavy rain turned normally minor rivers and streets into raging torrents this week and caused the disastrous flooding that swept away cars, destroyed homes and trapped residents.
Immediately after the floods hit on Wednesday and Thursday, authorities listed large numbers of people as missing — something apparently caused in large part by confusion, multiple reporting and communications difficulties in the affected areas, some of which lacked electricity and telephone service.
By Saturday, authorities still feared finding more people dead, but said numbers unaccounted for had dropped constantly, without offering specific figures as floodwaters receding across much of the affected regions, easing access and revealing the extent of the damage.
“A lot of people have lost everything they spent their lives building up — their possessions, their home, the roof over their heads,” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting rescue workers and others in the town of Erftstadt.
“It may only be possible to clear up in weeks how much damage needs to be compensated,” he said.
Steinmeier said that people in the affected areas are counting on continuing support.
“Many people here in these regions have nothing left but their hope, and we must not disappoint this hope,” he said.
In Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne, a harrowing rescue effort unfolded on Friday when the ground in a neighborhood gave way, At least three houses and part of a mansion in the towns Blessem district collapsed.
The German military used armored vehicles to clear away cars and trucks overwhelmed by the floodwaters on a nearby road, some of which remained at least partly submerged. Officials feared that some people didnt manage to escape in Erftstadt, but no casualties were confirmed by Saturday afternoon.
In the Ahrweiler area, police warned of a potential risk from downed power lines and urged curious visitors to stay away. They complained on Twitter that would-be sightseers were blocking some roads.