180 people have died to date and dozens more are missing in Western Europe after rains and floods washed away cars, collapsed roads and buildings and streams and streets turned into raging torrents this week.
Aerial view of the floods in the Blessem district of Erftstadt, Germany, distributed on Friday, July 16, 2021 by the Cologne district government.Rhein-Erft-Kreis via AP
German army soldiers search for victims in flooded cars on a road in Erftstadt, Germany, on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Due to heavy rains, the small river Erft passed overflowed its banks and caused massive damage.AP / Michael Probst
A destroyed castle, left, in Erftstadt-Blessem, Germany, on July 17, 2021. Due to heavy rains, the small river Erft overflowed its banks and caused massive damage. AP Photo / Michael Probst
Search and rescue operations continue for missing persons due to floods in Germany and Belgium
July 16, 202100: 26
In the affected area of Ahrweiler, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, police reported 110 deaths and said the number could continue to rise.
In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany's most populous, 45 deaths were confirmed, including four firefighters,
The Associated Press reported.
Cars in Hagen, Germany, are covered in debris brought in by the Nahma River flood, Thursday, July 15, 2021.AP Photo / Martin Meissner
Pope Francis offered a prayer for the victims of the floods and for support for "everyone's efforts to help those who suffered great damage."
Rescuers search for victims in flooded cars on a road in Erftstadt, Germany, on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Due to heavy rain, the small river Erft overflowed and caused massive damage.AP Photo / Michael Probst
"I express my closeness to the peoples of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, which have been affected by the catastrophic floods," said the pontiff in his first public appearance before the faithful in St. Peter's Square two weeks after undergoing surgery.
"May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort their families."
[After severe flooding this week, is Europe prepared for future disasters related to the climate crisis?]
Cars are covered in Hagen, Germany, Thursday, July 15, 2021, with debris brought in by the flooding of the Nahma River the night before.AP Photo / Martin Meissner
Debris hangs from a damaged bridge over the Ahr River in Schuld, Germany, on Friday, July 16, 2021. Two days earlier, the Ahr River overflowed after heavy rains fell, causing serious deaths and hundreds of people missing. AP Photo / Michael Probst
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Schuld, a town near Ahrweiler that was devastated by floodwaters, on Sunday to see the damage for herself.
Meanwhile, the country's president visited the area on Saturday and made it clear that the region will need long-term assistance.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (center left) and Rhineland-Palatinate state prime minister Malu Dreyer (center right) talk to people as they inspect the damage after heavy flooding from the Ahr River caused a major destruction in the village of Schuld, Germany, on July 18. EFE / EPA / Christof Stache
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz announced that he will propose an immediate aid package at a government meeting on Wednesday, estimating that
more than 300 million euros ($ 354 million) will be needed.
He pointed out that there is an urgent need to work on a reconstruction program, which according to the experience of other floods will
amount to billions of euros.
Heavy rains are also causing flooding in several Belgian provinces.
The country has confirmed 27 deaths.
A car floats on the Meuse River during heavy flooding in Liege, Belgium, Thursday, July 15.AP Photo / Valentin Bianchi
"These types of events are fully expected and in line with the climate projections of the last 30 years, which have said that there will be a greater intensity and frequency of heat waves, droughts and heavy rains," Professor Dieter Gerten told NBC News, sister network of Noticias Telemundo.
A police officer among the rubble after heavy rains caused flooding in Pepinster, Belgium, on July 17.
For Gerten, leader of a task force at Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the deadly floods that hit the streets of Western Europe this week are the latest sign of the crises humanity will face in the years to come.
Cars are submerged by flooding after the Meuse river runaway and wreaked havoc in Liège, Belgium, on Thursday, July 15, 2021.AP Photo / Valentin Bianchi
Scientists cannot yet say for sure whether climate change caused the floods, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the extreme weather that has been recorded in different parts of the world.
A resident throws damaged objects out of a window after flooding in Ensival, Verviers, Belgium, on Friday, July 16.AP Photo / Francisco Seco
"The climate researchers' forecasts are clear. Man-made climate change means that such extreme weather conditions will increase in [frequency] and intensity.
Such extreme weather situations will no longer be singular rare events in the future, but rather, the rule, "
Dirk Jansen of the environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth Germany
told
NBC News
.
Residents inspect a house damaged after flooding in Ensival, Verviers, Belgium, on Friday, July 16.AP Photo / Francisco Seco
"Neither in Europe, nor anywhere else, are they adequately prepared for this," he added.