A week after heavy flooding hit Western Europe, wreaking havoc in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, German officials said on Thursday they feared the 158 people still missing there might not be found.
The death toll from floods has risen to at least 205 across the continent. Belgium accounts for 32 deaths and 18 missing, according to its national crisis center.
In Germany, the worst-hit country, entire cities were flooded, while train lines and roads were flooded, claiming at least 173 lives.
The federal disaster relief organization in Germany said "it is unlikely that more survivors will be found". Rescue services have continued to search through flood-ravaged cities in search of potential survivors. The deputy head of Germany's federal technical relief agency, Sabine Lackner, also told CNN on Thursday that she "does not expect emergency workers to find other survivors."
"The search for missing people continues to move forward, but because of the injury scenario and the time that has elapsed now, there is little hope that missing people will be found at this time," Lackner said in a statement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the devastation was "surreal".
Experts say frightening weather events like the floods and the recent wave of fires across Canada and the US are a sign of the effects of climate change.
Source: CNN
