Heavy rain hits Europe - 21st July 2021

There was very bad weather in Europe. Too much rain fell in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

100 to 150 millimetres of rain fell in two days. This amount of rain usually falls in 8 weeks.

River levels got very high. The water went everywhere. There were big problems in places with small rivers, not large rivers. They had no flood walls.

Lots of people are in hospital. Other people are missing. Over 200 people died.

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 water level went up quickly. There was no time to leave. Now, people are helping each other. The army is clearing roads.

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."

The problem may be from climate change. Scientists are worried. Weather disasters are happening a lot now. We need to be ready.