Berlin: The death toll from devastating floods across parts of Western Germany shot up to 106, according to local authorities whereas a total of 23 people have been killed in Belgium.
Authorities further said that the total death toll from flooding in Western Europe reached 126 even as the search continued for hundreds of people still unaccounted for.
While heavy rainfall battered parts of France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the worst-hit areas were western Germany where at least 63 victims have been reported in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and 43 in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In Belgium, the death toll has risen to 23, according to Al Jazeera.
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 local media reports.
The Rhineland-Palatinate state's Interior Department previously told the media that "the fate of 40 to 60 people remains unclear".
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.
Gerd Landsberg, head of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, said the cost of the damage was likely to run into “billions of euros”.
Agron Berischa, a 21-year-old decorator from Bad Neuenahr in Rhineland-Palatinate state, told AFP news agency “everything was under water within 15 minutes”, Al Jazeera reported Friday.
“Our flat, our office, our neighbours’ houses, everywhere was under water", it said.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has said the recent days of heavy flooding in Belgium were the worst the country has ever seen, as he declared July 20 a national day of mourning.
“We are still waiting for the final toll, but this could be the most catastrophic flooding our country has ever seen,” he said.
For all the latest News, Opinions and Views, download ummid.com App.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.
