Merkel Shocked By Catastrophic Flooding In Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday she was shocked by catastrophic downpour and flooding that hit her homeland and promised the help of all federal agencies

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2021) German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday she was shocked by catastrophic downpour and flooding that hit her homeland and promised the help of all Federal agencies.

"Peaceful places are right now going through a catastrophe. You can call it a tragedy. Words like 'heavy rainfall' and 'flooding' are not doing it credit... I am shocked by reports that are reaching me," she said in a televised address from Washington, where she is on a state visit.

Merkel said many appeared to have lose their lives, some of them in the cellars of their homes. Several firefighters died trying to reach those stranded by floodwater.

The chancellor promised that federal agencies would do everything to help.

She said she had talked to Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer who vowed to assist were they could.

"I should say I've been contacted by many of my European colleagues who expressed solidarity with Germany and also offered help," she added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already expressed condolences to Merkel.

Record rainfall has hit the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany, bursting river banks and flooding cellars. German media estimate that at least 42 people have lost their lives to the natural disaster.