The Chancellor visited Schuld on Sunday. No one has so far been confirmed dead or injured in the village, but far from everyone is equally lucky.
Schuld is located in the Ahrweiler region, which has paid a high price in recent days. The death toll in the area is now 112. Several are still missing, and the authorities fear the number will continue to rise.
In the neighboring region of Rhine-Westphalia, the flood has claimed 46 lives since Wednesday. In Belgium, the death toll is 31, up four since Saturday. It will probably be adjusted upwards further in the next few days, as 163 people are still missing in the country.
In total, more than 180 people have lost their lives in Central Europe.
Struggling to find words
The heavy rainfall makes the idyllic village of Schuld now reminiscent of a war zone. The visit left a clear mark on Merkel, who was almost speechless by the ravages of the flood.
– It’s shocking. I would almost say that the German language hardly has words for the destruction that has taken place, says the Federal Chancellor.
– Angela Merkel visited the village of Schuld on Sunday. Photo: Wolfgang Rattay / REUTERS
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She promises that the authorities will do everything in their power to rebuild the affected areas, as well as to provide support to the victims.
– This gives a picture of what I have to say is a surreal and ghostly situation, Merkel continues.
The government says it will adopt an emergency crisis package of more than 300 million euros that will go to immediate emergency aid in the affected areas. In addition, a larger plan is planned for the long-term reconstruction. Here is the price tag of several billion euros.
– Chancellor Angela Merkel went hand in hand with the governor of the Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, through the flood-damaged village. Photo: Christof Stache / REUTERS
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The flood has, to an even greater extent than before, led to climate change and global warming becoming a theme in the German election campaign.
Had to apologize
The Germans go to the polls on September 26, in an election that marks the end of 16 years with Merkel in power.
Experts agree that climate change is making extreme weather more common. The prime ministerial candidates waiting behind the scenes in Germany have called for intensifying the fight against climate change and stepping up preparations.
Among them is Merkel’s party colleague Armin Laschet, who so far has done well in the polls. Laschet is currently head of government in North Rhine-Westphalia.
But Laschet has been in the negative spotlight after an incident on Saturday, when he was filmed smiling and laughing during a visit to Erftstadt, where the flood had triggered a landslide.
– Laschet laughs while the country cries, the newspaper Bild wrote. The CDU politician later had to step out and apologize for the incident.
Moving east
Extreme amounts of precipitation have also fallen over Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
While water levels are falling in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, there are new concerns about the situation in other parts of the country that have so far not been hit hard by floods.
This applies, among other things, to parts of Bavaria, where heavy rain has led to flooded cellars and led to rivers overflowing their banks there as well.
– Austria is among the countries that are now experiencing large amounts of water. Photo: Daniel Scharinger / AFP
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The cities of Berchtesgaden and Bischofswiesen, located in the southeast of Bavaria near the border with Austria, are particularly hard hit. Water comes both from the mountains and from the flooded river Ache.
A person has been reported dead in Berchtesgadener Land, the authorities in the area say.
Also in Austria, the heavy rain leads to flooding, and the emergency services in the regions of Salzburg and Tyrol are working hard.
– Heavy rain and storm unfortunately lead to serious injuries in several places in Austria, writes Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz on Twitter.
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