At least 90 people were killed and more than 1,000 others were still unaccounted for Friday after devastating floods in western Europe caused rivers to burst their banks, swept away cars and caused homes to collapse.
More than 80 people were killed in Germany and as many as 1,500 people were assumed to be missing as frantic rescue efforts entered a second day.
Officials said they hoped the high number still unaccounted for was due to mobile networks and internet connections going down, making it difficult for many to reach their loved ones.
At least 50 people died in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, officials said, while 30 were killed in neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia.
Storms also caused deadly flooding in Belgium, where media reported at least 12 deaths, while Luxembourg and the Netherlands were also hit.
The torrential rain and storms stranded people on rooftops, with authorities using inflatable boats and helicopters to identify and rescue residents.
The German army deployed around 900 soldiers to assist in the operation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to meet with President Joe Biden, said the situation was "characterized by fear, by despair, by suffering."
Hundreds of thousands of people were faced with catastrophe, she said, and homes became death traps.
"My empathy and my heart goes out to all of those who in this catastrophe who lost their loved ones or who were still worrying about the fate of people still missing," she said.
The chancellor said she feared that the "full extent of this tragedy will only be seen in the coming days".
Biden also expressed his condolences on behalf of the American people to those affected by the flooding in Germany and other countries.
In Schuld, which is in Ahrweiler, a rural district in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Edgar Gillessen said the devastation was "simply catastrophic."
"All these people living here, I know them all. I feel so sorry for them. They've lost everything. All they have is what they've had on them — it's all gone," Gillessen, 65, told Reuters. "A friend had a workshop over there, nothing standing. The bakery, the butcher — it's all gone. It's scary. Unimaginable."
Meanwhile in North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, the state's governor and the conservative hopeful seeking to replace Merkel in the country's upcoming September election, called an emergency Cabinet meeting for Friday on the response to the floods.
“We don’t know the extent of the damage yet, but we won’t leave the communities, the people affected, alone,” he said during a visit to the city of Hagen, which was hit hard by the extreme weather.
In addition to the growing death toll and hundreds missing, thousands of people were left homeless by the disaster after seeing their houses destroyed or deemed at-risk by authorities.
In Belgium, the Vesdre River broke its banks and sent torrents of water churning through the streets of Pepinster, close to Liege, its destructive power bringing down some buildings.
France sent a helicopter and a rescue team to Belgium to assist local authorities, and Italy and Austria have offered flood rescue teams, the European Commission said.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that her thoughts were with those affected by the flooding in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and that the European Union stands ready to help.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed.
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Dozens dead, as many as 1,500 missing after floods in Germany - NBC News
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