독일 서부 홍수로 58명 사망•70명 실종…100년만의 폭우 원인은 "기후변화"
At least 70 people have died in Germany and Belgium following a record rainfall.
Most of the victims were in Germany, but at least 11 have died in Belgium, with more reported missing.
With rescue operations ongoing, officials say they expect the death toll to rise.
Kim Dami reports.
At least 58 people have died and dozens were still missing Thursday in Germany...as heavy flooding struck the country, turning streams and streets into raging torrents.
The worst of the flooding hit the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, where a record 148 liters of rain per square meter fell overnight.
Grieving for the lost lives, Germany's chancellor pledged the full power of the state to find those still missing.
"My thoughts are with you and you can trust that all the forces of our state - federal, state and local - will join forces to do everything possible to save lives."
Germany is equipped with a well-developed flood control system, which has previously resulted in very few human casualties from flooding.
So this record rainfall and the preceding heatwave, experts point out, could be linked to climate change because as the Earth's temperature increases, more water vapor stays in the atmosphere.
"This is a natural disaster, but the fact that this disaster could take place in this way certainly also has something to do with the fact that climate change is also progressing in the way."
While rescue operations continue under severe conditions amid power cuts, local weather experts predict the rain will last until Friday afternoon, with a further rainstorm forecast for Southwestern parts of the country.
Neighboring Belgium has also been badly hit, leaving at least eleven people dead and causing the evacuation of 18-hundred residents, while the Netherlands, France and Switzerland have reported damage by the flooding.
Kim Dami, Arirang News.
#Germany #rain_storms #dozens
📣 Arirang News(Facebook) : [ Ссылка ]
📣 Arirang News(Twitter) : [ Ссылка ]
📣 News Center(YouTube) : [ Ссылка ]
2021-07-16 10:00 (KST)
