As if the earth had been gutted, and sucked everything in tons of mud.
A spectacular landslide, following the severe weather, swept away houses on Friday morning in a locality near Cologne.
Several people have died and others are missing, local authorities said.
In the municipality of Erftstadt-Blessem, “the houses were largely washed away and some collapsed.
Several people are missing, ”according to a tweet from the Cologne community of municipalities.
A spokesperson told AFP that several deaths were "confirmed".
++ Eilmeldung ++ In # Erftstadt-Blessem sind Häuser massiv unterspült worden und einige eingestürzt.
Es werden etliche Personen vermisst.
Aus den Häusern kommen Notrufe, aber eine Rettung ist vielfach nicht möglich.
Unser Katastrophenschutz ist vor Ort.
Photos: Rhein-Erft-Kreis pic.twitter.com/Waaq3tMciM
- BezirksregierungKöln (@BezRegKoeln) July 16, 2021
“Emergency calls are coming from homes, but help is often not possible,” the authorities further explained about this area located less than 40 kilometers from Cologne.
This event will further increase the death toll in this region of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most affected by the deadly weather, with that of neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate.
The number of dead people is currently at least 81 by the various authorities and the emergency services continue to search for many missing people.