At least
183 people have died and dozens others are missing in Germany‘s worst
floods in living memory, triggered by days of incessant rainfall, with Chancellor
Angela Merkel set to visit affected areas on Sunday to survey the damage and
meet survivors.

Merkel is
scheduled to travel to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where she will visit
the village of Schuld, one of the worst-affected places from the floods as the
river Ahr has burst its banks as torrents have swept houses, cars and other
property. Police said that at least 110 people have died and 670 are injured in
the Rhineland-Palatinate state itself, AFP reported.

27 people have
also lost their lives in neighbouring Belgium, with rescue operations ongoing
in both countries. The extreme rainfall has also affected Switzerland, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands.

Also Read | Is global warming behind the floods in Germany?

In Austria,
emergency workers in the Salzburg and Tyrol regions were on high alert for
flooding. The historic town centre of Hallein, near the German frontier, was
under water.

“Heavy
rains and storms are unfortunately causing severe damage in several places in
Austria,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter.

Merkel has
called the floods a “tragedy” and pledged support from the federal
government for Germany’s stricken municipalities. Speaking alongside US
President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, Merkel said her “heart
goes out to all of those who in this catastrophe lost their loved ones”.

The
government has said it is working to set up a special aid fund, with the cost
of damage expected to reach several billion euros.

The
disaster has increasingly taken on political overtones in Germany, which heads
to the polls on September 26 for a general election that will mark the end of
Merkel’s 16 years in power. With experts saying climate change is making
extreme weather events like these more likely, candidates vying to succeed the
veteran leader have called for more climate action.