Rescue crews have been racing to find survivors of floods. Hundreds are still missing in Germany and Belgium.PM Mark Rutte has declared a national disaster,Switzerland. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was stunned. "Whole places are scarred by the disaster,", Mr Steinmeier said at a news conference. Rescue teams in Germany were hampered by difficult. The states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saar land have been the worst affected by the rainfall.
In Rhineland-Palatinate's district of Ahrweiler, officials had said about 1,300 people were missing on Friday - but added that the figure was "decreasing every hour". A resident of the Ahrweiler village of Schuld told AFP news agency that cars had been washed away and houses knocked down in scenes he likened to a "war zone". Roger Lewentz, the interior minister for Rhineland-Palatinate , told local media the death toll would probably rise. you have to fear the worst," he said.
Scientists have been predicting for years that summer rainfall and heatwaves would become more intense due to human-induced climate change. Hannah Cloke, Professor of Hydrology at the University of Reading, said: "The deaths and destruction across Europe as a result of flooding is a tragedy that should have been avoided. Yet in the UK - hit by severe flooding on Monday - the government's advisory climate change committee recently told ministers the nation was even worse prepared for extreme weather than it was five years ago. And only this week the UK government told people that they don't need to reduce flying because technology will solve the emissions problem - a notion that most experts consider a gamble.
READ MORE: Science failed to predict flood and heat intensity
In Belgium, the army has been sent to four of the country's 10 provinces to help with rescue and evacuations. He said the floods - which have claimed at least 20 lives in Belgium - could be, "the most catastrophic our country has ever seen" . Rescue workers from France, Italy and Austria were sent to the city of Liege, where residents were evacuated after flash floods.
Meanwhile in the Netherlands, thousands of people fled their homes in Limburg province as rising waters swamped cities and broke through a dyke.
But waters were receding in the southern city of Maastricht and nearby towns, where residents were able to return to their homes on Friday.
In Switzerland, lakes and rivers were also swelling after heavy rainfall.
Lake Lucerne is flooding into the town and people in Basel have been told to keep well away from the River Rhine.
One month of rain causes flash floods in London
Crews scramble to reach victims of deadly floods in Germany and Belgium, where hundreds are missing.
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