Extreme flooding hits Europe - 21st July 2021

Extreme flooding has struck many parts of western Europe, with 10 to 15 centimetres of rain falling in 48 hours. This is more typically seen over a two month period.

The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany have all been seriously affected and the floods have been catastrophic for local communities. Hundreds of people have been injured and around 200 people have lost their lives. Many more are still missing.

Those areas which were hit the worst lay near small rivers that, unlike larger rivers, hadn't been strengthened against flooding. The huge volume of water meant that these rivers overflowed and destroyed homes.

Sabine: "It went very fast, the water rose to 1.60 metres. Some corpses were floating in the water, people took refuge on the roofs, it was really horrible. A lot of water came into the houses. There's nothing left to save, the houses are no longer inhabitable. There's no electricity, no water either."

The rain fell with such force that there was no time to evacuate areas. Local communities are now supporting each other. Meanwhile, the military has been reopening flooded routes to reach affected areas.

Heinz Gies: "We are helping each other. There are also many volunteers who came to help and who provide us with water, coffee, food and I thank them from the bottom of my heart."

It's impossible to say whether climate change was behind this disaster. However, climate experts warn that as the Earth heats, disasters like this will become more frequent.