Germany's Scholz visits flood region, assures federal 'solidarity'

After heavy rainfall caused flooding and landslides in the western German state of Saarland, Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the affected region on Saturday to take stock of the situation and assured of the federal government's "solidarity."

Scholz emphasized that the priority was now on acute aid. He stated that once the immediate danger had passed, the government would coordinate with local authorities to determine what aid is necessary.

Scholz, who was wearing wellies, walked across a flooded street and spoke to those affected.

"We have a strong tradition of solidarity," said the chancellor. "Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have had to deal with a major natural disaster, so we will of course look at what needs to be done now and what is necessary."

Scholz cancelled an election campaign appearance planned for Saturday to visit the affected region.

The chancellor visited the area with state Premier Anke Rehlinger, who said, "Nobody should be left out in the rain in this difficult situation."

Earlier, police said that the situation had eased somewhat. However, a spokesman for the district's technical operations centre said rescue services were still conducting a large-scale operation.

"The water levels of the Saar and other bodies of water are peaking or beginning to fall," said the spokesman. But the exact extent of the damage must still be properly assessed.

After a restless night, the clean-up began in some regions, however, the exact extent of the damage is only likely to become apparent over the next few days.

Videos showed cars half submerged in water, caravans stuck in the floodwater and numerous flooded streets. Buildings were provisionally protected with sandbags and in some cases entire streets were under water.

So far, no lives are known to have been lost. One person was injured during an evacuation operation, said an official. The person had fallen into the water and was subsequently taken to hospital.

The flood was a type that occurs every 20 to 50 years, according to the state Office for Environmental Protection and Occupational Safety.

The German Weather Service (DWD) measured more than 100 litres of rain per square metre in less than 24 hours. By comparison, 74 litres of rain per square metre were measured in Saarland for all of April.

The police in Saarland recorded around 1,000 deployments by Saturday morning, in addition to thousands of deployments by fire brigades and other aid organizations.

Numerous roads in Saarland are still closed and rail traffic is also restricted, according to railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB). It initially advised against non-essential travel to the Saarland.

Officials said that 220 people were accommodated in a gymnasium in Saarburg-Beurig. A retirement home was also evacuated in Saarburg and a hotel in Trittenheim on the Middle Moselle. Around 50 people were taken to temporary accommodation in a gymnasium.

Other regions reported the situation still remained tense on Saturday morning.

In the Trier-Saarburg district, local administrators said the water levels on the two rivers remain high.

Due to a defective barrage, there could be a backwater on the Moselle River and thus flooding in the communities in question. The emergency services are reportedly being further increased.

Many houses in the Ruwer Valley are said to be underwater. The exact number was not initially known.

The DWD cancelled all severe weather warnings in Germany early on Saturday morning.

As a result, there were no longer any warnings of "extremely heavy continuous rain" in Saarland or Rhineland-Palatinate, according to the DWD.