Heavy rains caused flooding in regions of West Germany, affecting the region of Ahrweiler (Rheinland-Pfalz). In the town Schuld (Nordrhein-Westfalen), several buildings collapsed with others prone to collapse.
The town of Hagen is also affected, near Wuppertal a dam overflow – subsequently towns around Steinbachtalsperre in Euskirchen were evacuated.
Dozens of people are missing, 33 deaths have been reported so far.

Forecasts suggest more heavy rain is due in much of Germany and Belgium on Thursday and Friday.
Much of the flooding was triggered when the Ahr river, which flows into the Rhine, burst its banks south of Bonn.
Malu Dreyer, chief of the Rhineland-Palatinate state, described the flooding as a “catastrophe”.
“There are dead, missing and many people still in danger,” she said. “All of our emergency services are in action round the clock and risking their own lives.”
Police helicopters and the army have been deployed to some areas to help stranded residents.
At least 200.000 people are without electricity. The weather related damages in Germany in 2021 so far are possibly the most expensive since at least 2013.
Foto: Bundeswehr im Einsatz in Kordel. Altenheim inzwischen evakuiert. 2. Einsatzschwerpunkt an der Sauer in Ralingen und Metzdorf. Personenrettung mit Booten und Amphibienfahrzeugen. Stromausfall dauert an. #triersaarburg #112live #immerda pic.twitter.com/4IOc8L68m3
— Landkreis Trier-Saarburg (@LKTrierSaarburg) July 15, 2021
#Germany: Fire brigade Vehicle submerged in flood water in #Aachen city. #洪水 #flut #Deutschland #Flood #Germany #洪水 pic.twitter.com/fdU0O75cHM
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) July 15, 2021
#Germany Floods
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) July 15, 2021
"Mom, there's a car floating past our window …"#Hagen #nrw #Weltuntergang #Wuppertal #洪水 #flut #Deutschland #Flood #Germany #洪水 #Rain pic.twitter.com/69cwBwI5bH
#Germany :According to police at least 30 people missing after 6 houses #collapsed due to #flooding and continuous rain.
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) July 15, 2021
About 25 other houses also unstable and threatened to collapse. –@sascha_p#Hochwasser #Starkregen #Klimakatastrophe #Wuppertal #flut #Flood #Wuppertalsperre pic.twitter.com/t9rPx3ThtZ
The entire Ahrtal is flooded, below a picture of Dernau. The flooding is so severe it broke the old record by more than 2 meters.
Die schlimmsten Befürchtungen sind eingetroffen. Das gesamte #Ahrtal überflutet. #Ahrweiler, #BadNeuenahr, #Mayschoß u. a. überschwemmt. Kein Strom, kein Empfang. Hier ein Blick auf #Dernau. https://t.co/n7ZfKq70uh pic.twitter.com/3wBDf06yLd
— David Sauer (@DavSauer) July 15, 2021
Belgium
Several buildings collapsed in the town of Pepinster, Belgium.
Der Regen hält an. Auch im benachbarten #Belgien kommt es zu Überschwemmungen, mehrere Häuser in der Ortschaft #Pepinster sollen eingestürzt sein: https://t.co/pUYMhOv9JA #Belgium #Lüttich #Flut
— Florian Flade (@FlorianFlade) July 15, 2021
? La crue de la Vesdre atteint une ampleur dramatique à Verviers dans l'est de la Belgique ce matin ! Certaines rues sont noyées sous près de 2 mètres d'eau ! (© Katia Bogaert) pic.twitter.com/yDGNgflP1y
— Météo Express (@MeteoExpress) July 15, 2021
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Aus aktuellem Anlass: Der Schweizerische Rückversicherungskonzern SwissRe steht ja nicht im Verdacht, ein linksalternativer Haufen zu sein:
— Beat Döbeli Honegger (@beatdoebeli) July 15, 2021
"Extreme Wetterereignisse werden in Deutschland zunehmen, vor allem Hitzewellen und Dürre, aber auch Flut."https://t.co/WkEBAQzBlZ pic.twitter.com/aHiME85dQZ
Unwetter in Deutschland: Überschwemmungen durch Starkregen. Mal wieder relevant: warum die Erderwärmung mehr Extremregen bringt. https://t.co/mjjx0Sz8o4
— Stefan Rahmstorf ? (@rahmstorf) July 14, 2021
Tagesschau: https://t.co/jLfVNDzbBx
Historisches Hochwasser Katastrophe in der Eifel
Teaser image: CHRISTOPH REICHWEIN/TNN/DPA