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July 18th, 2021 
Awake Goy 
German military aids flood rescue efforts as death toll rises
The death toll across Germany and Belgium topped 180 on Sunday after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters.
Some 155 people have been confirmed dead in Germany while 27 have died in Belgium.
Germany’s finance minister Olaf Scholz has said that officials must begin setting up a rebuilding programme which is likely to cost billions.
He said he would propose a package of immediate aid, totalling at least 300 million euros (£257 million), at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to visit the devastated Schuld, a village near Ahrweiler in the worst-hit Rhineland-Palatinate region, on Sunday. Some 110 people are known to have died in the region.
Some 65 people were evacuated from their homes in Germany‘s Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed.
The floods have begun to spill over into Austria, where a flash flood swept through the town of Hallein late Saturday, although no casualties have been reported.
The military has been deployed to help aid the search and rescue mission and was seen using armoured vehicles to clear away cars and trucks overwhelmed by the floodwaters in Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne where the ground in a neighbourhood gave way.
ICYMI: German military aids were deployed to assist with the search and rescue mission
Watch as German military aids assist with the search and rescue mission in flood-stricken Germany:
German military aids flood rescue efforts as death toll rises
Ella Glover18 July 2021 13:57
One more confirmed dead in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state
One more person has been confirmed dead in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state, bringing the regional death toll to 46 police said.
North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany’s most populous state and has been hit hard by the floods.
Four of those who died were firefighters.
Ella Glover18 July 2021 13:20
Pope Francis offers prayer to flood victims
At his first public appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square after major surgery, Pope Francis offered a prayer to the flood victims in western Europe and for support of the “efforts of all to help those who suffered great damage.”
“I express my closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding,” he said. “May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort the family members.”
Ella Glover18 July 2021 12:55
Angela Merkel arrives in Schuld
Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Schuld to witness the devastation caused by the floods.
(AP)
(REUTERS)
Ella Glover18 July 2021 12:29
Flood water was “like a tsunami” survivors recall
Speaking to The Associated Press, survivors of the floods in Belgium said the water was “like a tsunami” and “came all of a sudden” late in the evening.
Paul and Madeline Brasseur were forced to seek safety upstairs with their two sons, eventually ending up on the roof of their building with 15 others.
“We started to see buildings collapsing, people on the rooftops, buildings collapsing, falling into the water,” Mr Brasseur said.
The family was eventually saved by “the father of my sons’ best friend,” after a holding back from sending their sons into a rescue boat sent to rescue the children had begun taking on water.
Ella Glover18 July 2021 12:20
ICYMI: Germany and Belgium floods map
This map shows the main areas affected by the floods and why:
Ella Glover18 July 2021 11:58
At least one dead as floods hit southern Germany
Flash floods hit southern Germany on Sunday after the Ache River swelled in Berchtesgaden, a town in the Bavarian Alps on the Austrian border.
Some 65 people were evacuated from their homes in and at least one person was killed.
Ella Glover18 July 2021 11:35
Link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable, climate scientists say
Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to do something about climate change undeniable.
Scientists can’t yet say for sure whether climate change caused the flooding, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the extreme weather that has been on show around the world.
Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission said yesterday the floods were a “clear indication” of climate change.
“It is the intensity and the length of the events that science tells us this is a clear indication of climate change and that this is something that really, really shows the urgency to act,” she said.
My colleague has the full story below:
Additional reporting by AP
Ella Glover18 July 2021 11:10
Election candidate apologises for laughing gaffe during flood visit
A candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel has apologised for laughing in the background of a video of President Steinmeier while visiting a flood-hit region.
Admin Laschet received criticism after the video surfaced on Saturday showing the front-runner laughing as the president made a statement.
In a tweet, Laschet said: “The fate of those affected, which we heard about in many conversations, is important to us,” he wrote. “So I regret all the more the impression that arose from a conversational situation. That was inappropriate and I am sorry.”
Ella Glover18 July 2021 10:50
At least 300 million euros to be proposed for immediate aid
A package of immediate aid, totalling at least 300 million euros (£257 million), will be proposed at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, German finance minister Olaf Scholz has said.
He added that officials must start setting up a rebuilding programme which, from experience with previous flooding, will cost billions of euros.
Ella Glover18 July 2021 10:20
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