Death toll rises in ‘devastating’ German floods

At least 19 people have died and dozens are reported missing as record rainfall in western Germany caused rivers to burst their banks, swept away homes and inundated cellars. Police said four people had died and 70 were missing on Thursday around the wine-growing hub of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate state, after the Ahr River that flows into the Rhine burst its banks and brought down half a dozen houses. “We have never seen such a catastrophe, it is truly devastating,” Rhineland-Palatinate premier Malu Dreyer told state lawmakers.