Flooding in western Germany kills at least 80 people

BERLIN: JULY 16 – Floods caused by persistent heavy rainfall in western Germany have killed at least 80 people, local media reported Friday morning.

The death toll in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate has risen to 50, and “the fear is that there will be more,” said a police spokesman in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

According to figures previously released by the interior department of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, at least 30 people died in the state as a result of the disastrous weather.

The town of “Schuld an der Ahr” in the Rhineland-Palatinate state was the worst hit, with some houses destroyed by the floods, and several other counties have also been badly affected, according to the report.

The Rhineland-Palatinate state interior department previously told the media that “the fate of 40 to 60 people remains unclear” in the state.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, 23 districts have been affected.

Clean-up and recovery work is still underway and soldiers have arrived in the affected areas to support rescue efforts.

-XINHUA