The number of flood victims in Germany has exceeded 130 people

The death toll from a major flood in western Germany has risen to 133, informs Bild. More than 600 were injured.

In the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia due to flooding, 43 people died, another 90 people – in Rhineland-Palatinate. The death toll rose after the municipality of Erftstadt-Blessem was flooded the day before, several cars with passengers inside were under water. A dam burst in the city of Heinsberg (North Rhine-Westphalia).

Rescuers continue to find the dead in the basements of houses. “This is a catastrophic situation that we have never encountered before,” said Frank Rock, spokesman for the Rhine-Erft region.

More than a thousand rescuers are working in the flood area. About 3.5 thousand local residents are in temporary accommodation centers.

Heavy rains and floods have caused power outages and interruptions in the supply of drinking water in many parts of Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia and the Saarland. In localities in the Eifel Highlands, all schools are closed on Thursday.

The Deutsche Bahn concern, the main railway operator in Germany, issued an appeal to passengers yesterday to refrain from traveling to North Rhine – Westphalia and outside this federal state in the coming days, since many sections of the railway on its territory were under water and remain unsuitable for train traffic. …