Search and rescue efforts continue in Western Europe.
Europe's devastating flood death toll rose to at least 183 on Sunday with hard-hit west Germany and Belgium reeling from fast-rising waters that destroyed neighborhoods, swallowed up streets and swept away cars.
There are at least 156 dead in Germany, according to authorities. The hardest-hit areas in Germany are Rhineland-Palatinate, where 110 were killed in the catastrophic flooding and in North Rhine-Westphalia, where 46 people died, the Koblenz Police and the German Ministry of Interior said. About 150 people remain unaccounted for in Germany.
In Belgium, at least 27 are dead and 103 others remain unaccounted for on Sunday, according to the Belgian Interior Minister. The death toll is expected to rise.
The front-runner candidate poised to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany's September election, Armin Laschet, faced backlash after he was seen in photos turning to another person and laughing as Germany's president spoke about the catastrophic floods to reporters, The Associated Press reported. Laschet has since issued an apology.
"The fate of those affected, which we heard about in many conversations, is important to us," he wrote on Twitter Saturday night. "So I regret all the more the impression that arose from a conversational situation. That was inappropriate and I am sorry."
Western countries in Europe were hit with record rainfall that caused rivers to swell and triggered catastrophic flooding this week throughout Germany and Belgium, and southern parts of the Netherlands and Switzerland. pg slot auto
Horrific images revealed entire communities inundated with water, collapsed edifices and rescue workers combing through the wreckage.
The waters started to recede in some parts of Western Europe as of Saturday and efforts were launched to clean up the leftover debris and potentially discover more bodies.
Many areas are still grappling without electricity or telephone service.
Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported that some 17,150 houses in Belgium were without power as of Saturday and roughly 30,000 households did not have access to drinking water. About 3,500 homes had no gas and officials warned that a shortage of emergency supplies may last for several weeks.
Officials said 85% of the homes inspected in the Liege region of Belgium are at risk of collapsing.
