Everywhere, rescue efforts during the flooding in Central Europe were hampered. Electricity and communications networks were down, roads and bridges were washed out, drinking water was scarce. “Many of the roads are closed and there are bridges that simply aren’t there any more,” a spokesman for the police in Koblenz said of the region surrounding the Ahr river. The disaster was not limited to Germany. The broadcaster RTBF reported at least 12 dead in Belgium, where the Meuse river overflowed its banks, flooding villages and the center of Liège, leaving thousands without power.

Source: New York Times July 16, 2021 10:52 UTC