100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

'Worst in six decades': natural disaster grips Europe as flooding death toll rises

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Man bitten by dingo in latest incident at lake

A man has been bitten by a dingo amid a spate of incidents at a popular island lake this year. The man was attacked in More

Heavy rail project’s 402ha ‘disturbance footprint’ assessed

The Department of Transport and Main Roads has detailed how a multibillion-dollar rail line could impact the environment, and provided mitigation strategies. TMR has referred More

Locals weigh in on coastline management plans

Sunshine Coast residents have been urged to have their say on two new draft plans to manage the region's coastline. Sunshine Coast Council has called More

Call for fenced dog park in one of region’s largest towns

A new resident in one of the Sunshine Coastā€™s oldest and biggest towns is stunned there is no fenced dog park there and is More

Top chef to steer award-winning food festival

A renowned Sunshine Coast chef will take on a key role for a bumper nine-day food festival next year. Peter Kuruvita will be the culinary More

Kokoda Track veteran celebrates 103rd birthday

A World War II veteran who served on the Kokoda Track has celebrated his 103rd birthday, and been hailed for his contribution. Kawana Waters RSL More

Flash floods have hit southern Germany, killing adding to theĀ  devastation that has claimed the lives of more than 180 people in Europe in recent days.

The Berchtesgadener Land district in Bavaria, which borders Austria, became the latest region to be hit by record rainfall and ensuing floods.

Germany’s death toll climbed to 156 in its worst natural disaster in almost six decades, and the European toll to 183.

About 110 people have been killed in the worst-hit Ahrweiler district south of Cologne. More bodies are expected to be found there as the flood waters recede, police say.

The European floods, which began on Wednesday, have mainly hit the German states of Rhineland Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia as well as parts of Belgium. Entire communities have been cut off, and are without power or communications.

In North Rhine-Westphalia at least 45 people have died, while the death toll in Belgium stood at 27.

The German government will be readying more than 300 million euros in immediate relief and billions of euros to fix collapsed houses, streets and bridges, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

There could also be a 10,000 euro short-term relief payment for small businesses affected by the impact of the floods as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told the paper.

Scientists have long said that climate change will lead to heavier downpours. But determining its role in these relentless rainfalls will take several weeks to research at least.

In Belgium, which will hold a national day of mourning on Tuesday, water levels were falling on Sunday and the clean-up operation was underway. The military was sent in to the eastern town of Pepinster, where a dozen buildings have collapsed, to search for any further victims.

Tens of thousands of people are without electricity and Belgian authorities said the supply of clean drinking water was also a big concern.

Emergency services in the Netherlands remained on alert as water levels are still high throughout the southern province of Limburg where tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.

In the southern part of Limburg, water levels in the Meuse river have dropped slightly, making dyke inspections possible. If the structures pass muster, people could be allowed to return home, the regional safety board said.

Tens of thousands of residents in the region have been evacuated in the past three days, while soldiers, firefighters and volunteers helped enforce dykes.

The Netherlands has so far only reported property damage from the flooding and no dead or missing people.

In Hallein, an Austrian town near Salzburg, powerful flood waters tore through the town centre on Saturday evening as the Salzach river burst its banks, but no injuries were reported.

Many areas of Salzburg province and neighbouring provinces remain on alert, with rains set to continue on Sunday. Western Tyrol province reported that water levels in some areas were at highs not seen for more than 30 years.

Parts of Switzerland remained on flood alert, though the threat posed by some of the most at-risk bodies of water like Lake Lucerne and Bern’s Aare river has eased.

Subscribe to SCNā€™s free daily news email

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share