BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday tested what she called a “surreal and ghostly” scene in a devastated village, promising immediate monetary aid and a redoubled policy to combat climate change as the death toll from flooding in Western Europe surpassed 180.
Merkel visited Schuld, a village on a sharp bend of the Ahr River in western Germany, where many buildings were destroyed or destroyed by the immediate water level on Wednesday night.
Although the mayor of Schuld said no one had been killed or injured, many other put were not so lucky. The death toll in the Ahrweiler region, where Schuld is located, 112. Authorities have said there are still more people missing and are concerned that the death toll will continue to rise.
In the neighboring state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, another 46 people were killed, adding up to 4 firefighters. Belgium has recorded 31 deaths.
Merkel said she was returning from Schuld, still partially covered in rubble and dust under a radiant sun, with “a genuine image, I will have to say, of the ghostly and emergent situation. “
“It’s shocking, I would almost say the German language has a little bit of words to describe the devastation that has been caused,” he said at a news convention in a nearby town.
Merkel said the government would try to “put the world in order in this beautiful region, step by step,” and that her closet would approve a short- and medium-term monetary assistance program on Wednesday.
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told the bild am Sonntag newspaper that more than three hundred million euros ($354 million) would be needed immediately and said the government will have to launch a longer-term reconstruction program that, in the spree of past floods, will amount to billions of euros.
“Fortunately, Germany is a country that can manage this financially,” said Merkel, who will step down as chancellor after september’s elections. In the medium and long term, through a policy that is more respectful of nature and climate than we have done in recent years. This too will be necessary.
Climatologists say the link between excessive climate situations and global warming is and that the urgency of combating climate replace is
Scientists still can’t say for sure whether the climate replacement caused the floods, however, they insist it exacerbates the excessive climate errors exposed around the world.
“We will have to accelerate the fight against climate change,” Merkel said, highlighting policies already implemented through Germany and the European Union to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “And yet the lesson of the moment is that we’ll have to do it. “be very careful when adapting “to climate change.
Investing in combat as opposed to climate replacement is expensive, he said, but doing so is even more expensive.
“A flood is an example of climate change, however, if we look at the chances of loss of the last few years, decades, then they are more common than before, so we have to make a big effort,” Merkel said.
The population of the devastated spaces will want comfort for a long time to come.
“This flood will leave scars on the people of Schuld, scars that are not forgotten, that are overcome, because our lives have been replaced overnight,” said Mayor Helmut Lussi, breaking down in tears as he spoke.
Although rain stopped in the hardest-hit regions of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, storms and showers persisted in other parts of Western and Central Europe. There was flooding on Saturday night in the German-Czech border area, in the southeast corner of Germany, and across the border in Austria.
Around 130 more people were evacuated in the German region of Berchtesgaden after the flooding of the river Ache. At least one user died and the railway to Berchtesgaden closed.
The Berchtesgaden region is also home to the Koenigssee glide track, which has been the main setting for foreign sleds, skeletons and sleds for over 50 years. .
A flash flood hit near the Austrian town of Hallein on Saturday night, but no injuries were reported. Further west, flooding affected parts of the city of Kufstein. Heavy rains and thunderstorms caused severe damage in several regions of Austria.
Pope Francis prayed for those who suffered the floods and to help “in all efforts to help those who have suffered serious damage. “
“I explain my closeness to the other people of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding,” he said Sunday in his first public appearance in faithful St. Peter’s Square after primary surgery. “May the Lord welcome the deceased and convenience. “the members of his family’.
In eastern Belgium, the city of Pepinster, infantrymen and firefighters searched Sunday for survivors or bodies, according to state broadcaster RTBF. All the houses still in state were searched, so the effort focused on those that collapsed and in a valley downstream for in all probability washed away by the raging torrent.
The city’s soil remains volatile and other houses may collapse. “We have to be careful with every step we take,” said firefighter Olivier Jiust.
Dutch people affected by flooding in the city of Venlo allowed as many citizens to return home on Sunday, and trains resumed operation in the area, the government said.
Meanwhile, a cow swept a hundred kilometers (60 miles) along a flooded Dutch river will live out its days in a meadow, according to its owner. the south of the Netherlands, however, one discovered through an outdoor cyclist the city of Escharen and rescued through firefighters.
The cow, originally from the city of Echt, noticed the state on Saturday with only her nose coming out of the muddy water of the Mea, unable to let go. Firefighters controlled to pull the animal to the ground and the government discovered the owner through a tag on the ear. Meet says the cow has eaten and rests comfortably.
“It’s amazing that such an animal can swim or for so long and then have the strength to disembark,” he said.
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Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris and Frances D’Emilio in Rome contributed.
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