In western Germany, flood losses were calculated. In the town of Blissem, part of the municipality of Irwistadt in North Rhine-Westphalia, the receding water has accumulated in a landslide caused by violent storms. In the video we received at Kontakt 24, you can see how the fields and a local gravel pit turned into a huge pond.

Rescue and clean-up operations are underway in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). As the masses of water slowly recede from some of the flooded areas, the search for the missing continues. German authorities have so far confirmed the deaths of at least 157 people. Many homes were destroyed, as were bridges, roads and railways.

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One of the cities most affected by the floods is Erftstadt-Blessem in North Rhine-Westphalia. Many homes fell almost completely under water after the floods. Close to the gravel pit, the soil slid, turning the local fields into a deep landslide.

We compared the photo provided by the authorities with a view of this part of the city before the passage of the element:

At Kontakt 24 we received a video by Reporter 24, Mr. Tomek. The material was recorded on July 17, two days after a wave of floods passed through the city. It appears that the fields and landslides formed during the flood have completely inundated the water, turning the area into a lake.

In the graphic below, we have combined an image of the landslide with a frame showing the swimming pool that was created in this place:

Merkel promises help

Chancellor Angela Merkel visited flood-hit West Germany. “The German language hardly knows the words to describe this devastation,” she said during a visit to the municipality of Szold in the Rhineland-Palatinate. As she said, the government will adopt the aid program on Wednesday. She declared, “Federal and national governments will work together to bring the world back into order step by step.”

Chancellor Merkel visits flood-stricken areasPAP / EPA / CHRISTOF STACHE / POOL

Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer traveled to the element-ravaged region with Merkel. She stressed that floods are not alien to her land and that more than one billion euros have been invested in flood protection in recent years.

As she said, “we were really well prepared”, but the current disaster has a dimension that “we have not seen before in Germany, and we are pushing to the limit with technical flood protection. She emphasized that the army, police and fire brigades would systematically search for missing persons in all areas of the country. across the region.

PAP, call 24, tvn24.pl

Main image source: tomic / call 24