About 30 people are missing after six houses collapsed Wednesday night in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate due to heavy rains and flooding.
About 25 other homes are at risk of collapsing in the Eiffel area, according to the SWR, which cited local police.
A firefighter drowned and the army was deployed yesterday to help the trapped residents, as heavy rains caused unprecedented floods, one recorded every 25 years, in western Germany.
In the most densely populated area of the country, road, rail and river transport was interrupted in places.
The German Meteorological Service has issued extreme weather warnings in three states. Hagen, a city of 180.000, was declared a state of emergency after the River Folme overflowed. The city's crisis team warned that within the next few hours the water could reach levels that are recorded at most four times in each century. That is why he called on those living near the river to move immediately to higher altitude areas, WDR public television reported.
"Normally, we only deal with this situation in the winter," said Byrd Mehling, an environmental official in the worst-hit state of North Rhine-Westphalia. "Something like this, with such intensity, is completely unusual in summer," he added.
Some areas of Hagen have been declared isolated and inaccessible due to high water levels. The army mobilized to evacuate the inhabitants. Authorities also demanded that a district in Düsseldorf be evacuated.
A nursing home in Hagen has been evacuated as firefighters across the area try to pump water from hundreds of basements. In one hospital, due to the flood, the elevators stopped.
The firefighter drowned when he tripped and was swept away by the water. Elsewhere, two men, aged 53 and 81, are missing.
Armin Lassett, the prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and Chancellor Angela Merkel, is the candidate to visit the region today.
Source: Cnn.gr