Angela Merkel described the Germany floods as terrifying and has assured immediate financial aid after visiting the areas worst affected by record rainfalls. The German Chancellor was shaken by the images as 157 people have already lost their lives as the country confronted its worst natural disaster in over 60 years.
Climate scientists are equally perturbed by the scale and intensity of the Germany floods and said that even they had not anticipated so much devastation.
The picture is in stark contrast to the deadly heat waves surging across the western US and Canada. Temperatures have soared to 49.6C recently. These twin tragedies have one common thread running through them, human interference. The disruption in climatic conditions around the world is proving to be worse than even the most fearsome predictions.
The Rhine basin saw unbelievable rains and the consequences have left humanity stunned. The Germany floods have flooded thousands of homes, disrupted power supplies along with the unaccounted lives lost.
Germany Floods Awakens Merkel To The Need To Control Climate Change
Chancellor Merkel echoed that many governments around the world must already be contemplating; that countries need to move faster to rein in the devastating impact of climate change.
Administrative officials admitted that they had been caught unprepared for the ferocity of the natural calamity. Ahrweiler, south of Cologne was among the worst hit by the Germany floods with 110 bodies recovered. More bodies are expected as floodwaters recede.
Power and communications to the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland Palatinate remain cut off totally. These two areas have been pounded by 148 liters of rain per square meter in 48 hours. Most areas have seen rains double the previous recorded high
Read: NASA Says Moon Wobble Will Result In More Floods In the 2030s
Scientists have long warned of intense rains as climate changes take hold of the planet, but their predictions have been long considered likely only in the distant future. The link with climate change was admitted by Alexander De Croo, the Belgium PM. Belgium and the Netherlands have also been devastated by the floods. Nearly 200 people continue to be unaccounted for in Belgium.
The devastation is in line with trends witnessed globally though scientists have said that they will require more time to evaluate the degree to which human interference with the environment has caused the devastation. While scientists have long predicted the events, they are happening decades earlier than earlier predicted, with more intensity and frequency.
