The historic floods that have devastated vast parts of western Germany and Belgium have left at least 90 people dead as of early Friday. Days of lashing rain have caused flash flooding that, in turn, has washed away entire communities and done untold damage to infrastructure in multiple states. The worst of the flooding has hit the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where authorities said 50 people had died, including nine residents of one assisted-living facility. Confirming the rising death toll, Rhineland-Palatinate Premier Malu Dreyer said: “The suffering just keeps increasing.” In North Rhine-Westphalia—where at least 43 people have died and some 1,300 people are missing—Premier Armin Laschet blamed the extreme weather on global warming. Following a trip to the White House on Thursday night, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned: “The full extent of this tragedy will only be seen in the coming days.”
