NRW is experiencing a storm of unprecedented proportions.
At least 43 people lost their lives.
The town of Erftstadt is particularly affected by the flood.
The news ticker.
NRW: At least 43 fatalities and many injured.
No fatalities have yet been confirmed in Erftstadt, but several deaths are assumed.
The villages of Ohe and Ophoven were evacuated.
This news ticker on the floods in NRW is continuously updated.
Erftstadt - After the storm disaster in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland Palatinate, the situation remains tense.
According to the NRW Interior Ministry, there were at least 43 fatalities and many injured nationwide.
Laschet complained on Friday of a "flood disaster of historic proportions".
It is to be feared that the number of victims will continue to rise.
Flood in Erftstadt (North Rhine-Westphalia): "We assume several deaths"
The North Rhine-Westphalian town of Erftstadt is particularly affected by the flood. In the Blessem district, the Erft overflowed its banks and washed away numerous houses, causing them to collapse in whole or in part. At least three residential buildings and part of the historic castle collapsed. So far, there have been no confirmed fatalities, as a district spokesman announced to the German press agency on Saturday morning. "We assume several deaths, but do not know," said the North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) on Friday in Düsseldorf.
In other parts of the Rhein-Erft district, the water levels have meanwhile decreased, and evacuations have been lifted in the north.
Since the work of the rescue workers in the Blessem area is still in full swing, it cannot be ruled out that fatalities may still be found.
There are no reliable numbers of missing persons.
After storms in NRW: complete evacuation of Ohe and Ophoven
After the dam in the North Rhine-Westphalian district of Heinsberg broke, the village of Ohe was completely evacuated, as a spokeswoman for the Cologne district government told the AFP news agency.
There and in the village of Ophoven, a total of 700 people were affected by the evacuations.
