Dozens of people were feared dead and many more were missing as the worst flooding in decades caused houses to collapse in Germany, Belgium and other parts of western Europe
following days of heavy rain that swelled rivers and overloaded sewage systems.
At least 59 people are confirmed dead, according to German news agency dpa. In the city of Cologne, 20 have died from the raging floodwaters engulfing parts of western Germany. Some 1,300 people are currently unaccounted for in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, a town about 35 miles south of Cologne, possibly due to mobile networks being down and residents being unreachable by phone, according to a spokeswoman for the district.
People were left trapped in their homes across the region on Thursday, many of them waiting to be rescued on roofs as severe flooding turned streets into rivers, swept away cars and crushed houses. Hundreds of thousands of households were cut off from power and water supplies as well as telecommunications across the flooded area. In one town, the torrent ripped off a piece of the railway, officials said.
Two firefighters died while rescuing people encircled by the floods, according to authorities in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The army was deployed to help rescue services to evacuate hospitals and homes with the help of helicopters and armored amphibious vehicles.
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