Search for flood survivors continues in Germany

Rescue workers searched flood-ravaged parts of western Germany for survivors as water levels remained high in many towns and houses continued to collapse in the country’s worst natural disaster in half a century. At least 180 people have died in the flooding, including some 110 in the Ahrweiler district south of Cologne. In neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, 45 people were confirmed dead, including four firefighters. Hundreds of people are still missing. The flooding has also hit parts of Belgium and the Netherlands. At least 27 people have died in Belgium.