Devastating floods have hit parts of a German state as heavy rains turned roads into raging rivers.
The western German province of Saarland sent out emergency alerts after it was plunged into intense misery on Friday.
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Dramatic images show German cities drowning after record levels of rain hit the region.
In other images, cars can be seen submerged in murky waters as roads quickly turn into rivers.
Rescuers battled to save residents stranded from their sinking homes on boats, while receiving thousands of calls for help.
Shelters have been set up in schools and a hotline has been set up to help those affected.
Citizens were warned to avoid flooded streets, as the warning said: “Flood waves may occur suddenly, banks may collapse.
“Crossing flooded streets should be avoided at all costs – both on foot and by car.”
Thousands of volunteers and 850 workers from the federal humanitarian aid agency came together to face the consequences of the calamity.
In Völklingen, homes suffered power cuts after the disaster caused “considerable” damage.
The city municipality said: “In Völklingen, damage worth millions of euros is expected, especially in the private sector.
“The extent of the damage is not yet predictable.”
No deaths were reported, but at least one person is believed to have been injured.
The rain eased on Saturday morning, but the German Weather Service recorded at least 4.2 centimeters of rain.
Authorities claimed that the latest floods were the worst in the region’s 30-year history.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz canceled his participation in the election campaign on Saturday and headed to the region for inspection.
He was seen wearing rain boots as he toured flood-ravaged areas today.
Schols told reporters: “Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have had to manage a major natural disaster and so we will naturally look at what needs to be done here now and what is required.”
A dam in the local community of Riveris has overflowed, sending huge flows of water into the town’s main streets.
The city’s mayor told SWR: “This time the water came from all sides. We are located in a valley surrounded by two very steep slopes.
“There were many unfortunate circumstances that led to such a disastrous ending.”
Heavy rains also caused flooding in neighboring Belgium and the Netherlands.
In 2021, the deadliest flood in decades hit the Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia regions, killing at least 106 people.
Germany hit by deadliest floods in 2021
MORE than 100 people have died in Germany and up to 1,300 are missing after one of the worst floods in its history triggered violent floods and landslides.
German media dubbed the nationwide disaster a “flood of death,” with at least 106 dead in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland Palatinate.
Entire communities were left in ruins after raging rivers swept away towns and villages.
Around 1,300 people were missing in the district of Ahrweiler, south of Cologne, the district government said.
In the village of Schuld, Hans-Dieter Vrancken, 65, said: “Caravans and cars were washed away, trees were uprooted, houses were blown down.
“We’ve lived here in Schuld for over 20 years and we’ve never experienced anything like this. It’s like a war zone.”
Chancellor Merkel called the bad weather “a catastrophe” ahead of a meeting in Washington with US President Joe Biden.
She told a press conference: “Heavy rain and flooding are very inadequate words to describe this – it is therefore truly a catastrophe.
“I fear we will only see the full extent of the disaster in the coming days.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
