♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. catastrophic flooding in central china. dozens are dead, thousands of flights canceled, and entire cities paralyzed. tens of thousands are fleeing submerged homes, some places have seen a year worth of rain in three days and morris forecast. also coming up, -- and more is forecast. also coming up, angela merkel urging more action in the fight against global warming. the death toll from the devastating floods in germany

continues to rise. plus -- >> when my father was alive, we had enough to eat. we were grateful, but now we do not have enough food. >> we will go to a country where children are suffering the most, and it happened 10 years ago today. norway remembers the 70 something victims of a far-right terror attack that shook the country to its core. ♪ i, to our viewers on pbs and the united states, welcome. tonight in central china, they are fearing more rain and picking up the pieces after severe storms left much of the region underwater. at least 33 people have been killed and millions displaced. hundreds are trying to find

their missing relatives. authorities say a years worth of rain was dumped in just three days in the province. with more rain on the way, the situation may still get worse. >> floodwaters immersed building in china's hunan province. the damages devastating and the ar now a disaster zone. heavy rains have broug region to a standstill, flooding streets, submerging cars, and leaving resident stranded. emergency crews have been working around the clock to rescue people and clear the rubble, but as roads turn into rivers, it is making efforts more difficult, only heavy machinery can vary some to safety. -- ferry some to safety. in other parts, teams work to flood a subway station where many were trapped inside shoulder deep in water.

more than 200,000 have had to evacuate their homes. there are evacuation centers like this for basic supplies. dozens of reservoirs and stands have breached danger levels. the government has deployed soldiers to divert rivers, which burst their banks. our teams have rushed to the region. we are focusing on flood diversion and the rescue operation. other troops are also ready to participate. it is the highest rainfall this region has seen in decades. scientists say climate change has made flooding in the region ev worse, and e the search for the missing continues, fears grow the death toll will rise and more heavy rains are still to come. brent: our correspondent is in the hunan province in central

china, where the rains have let up some, but the situation remains serious. >> it was a years worth of rain coming down in less than a few days, and it went so quickly that many people were unable to rescue themselves. behind me, what you can see there is water that is being pumped from a tunnel. this tunnel has filled up with water within minutes, and it seems that cars were trapped inside. the authorities have not released a detailed account on how many people or whether people died in this tunnel, and there are many places in the city where you can still see something terrible has happened. you see cars that are turned over or have hanging on fences, and a lot of it has already been cleared, but this was definitely something that shook this city and has left its marks. most of the streets are open

now. you see here and there some of the traces, but tre are a lot of things we do not know and that we do not see at first glimpse. we do not know how many houses have been destroyed, how many peopleave lost tir homes or have temporarily lost their homes or have not been able to return and stay inside their houses, and we also know a little bit north, rains are still coming down in these areas and being hit by the floods. a lot of land is underwater there. brent: from the flooding in china flooding in europe, cleanup operation continues in western germany, one week after the region was hit by devastating floods. emergency crews are wading through muddy waters to clear the rubble and debris's. germany's national and regional governments approved 400 million euros to assist those affected and to help with rebuilding

efforts. the floods have killed at least 177 people, and scores remain unaccounted for. our reporter benjamin alvarez gruber is in a town in southwestern germany, a town severely affected by the floods. benjamin: it has been one week since severe flooding in western germany. a lot of people in residents have lost absolutely everything. they are working around the clock with all in tears, police officers, firefighters, to clear the debris in their house. firefighters are continuing to pump water out of the basement and out of underground parking lots. a lot of infrastructure has been damaged, and crews are working around the clock, not only trying to find people that are missing but working on the infrastructure like this bridge behind me that was complete he destroyed. the work will continue and the federal government promises quick financial help, but a lot of victims do not know how they

will continue to recover from the tragedy that unfolded. brent: that was benjamin alvarez gruber reporting. social media has played a key role in affecting people -- in helping people affected by the flooding with volunteers who want to support them. one house was visited where a group of syrian refugees answer the call for help. >> with every shovel, the piles of my are getting a little splash mud are getting a little -- mud are getting a little smaller, but there is still a lot left to do. a group of young men is helping the people worst affected by the disaster here. they came to germany as syrian refugees six years ago. >> germany has given us a lot we have been welcomed here. now, we want to give something back. we ought to help the people, germans, foreigners, anyone,

hand-in-hand, we are working together and doing as much as we can. tessa: the young man answered the call on social media. they have come from all over the country and are paying their travel expenses out of their own pockets. some are even using vacation days to be here. the call was put out for volunteers online, and together with friends, he had a simple but clever idea. >> we collected pces of information that were already circulating on social media in german, then we translated them so that arabic speaking people cod understand. once the information was out, everybody wanted to help. tessa: a group was created online and hundreds have signing up every day.

>> i was very surprised when the numbers started to go up so quick. i now am 100% sure that it could go up to 1000. and when i imagine this place here with thousands of people helping out altogether in an organized group, that really gives me goosebumps. tessa: that kind of help is desperately needed here. these homeowners, like many people in the region, have lost almost everythin in these dire times, the support given by the young man is highly appreciated. these guys really sacrificed themselves for us, africans, syrians, everybody. they worked all day. for them it went without saying, they really helped a lot. [applause]

[chairing] -- [cheering] with each day, a little progress is made. for volunteers, there is still a lot left to do. brent: and at her final summer press conference, angela merkel called for more action to slow climate change. she is leaving office after national elections this september. here is of what she said today. >> it is not as though we did not do anything, but looking at the goal of keeping global warming well under two degrees, we did not do enough. that is not only true for germany, it is the case where many -- for many countries around the world. and that is why we need to speed up our efforts. brent: i want to pull in our

political correspondent simon young. good evening. the chancellor spoke about climate change in connection with floods. she has been in power for 16 years. did she acknowledge personal failings in the preparation to deal with climate change? simon: well, i think what you heard there, brent, was as close as she came, acknowledging germany, i got the countries, has not done enough. she has been running germany for the past 16 years, so that is close to an acknowledgment of responsibility. she was also asked later on in the conference about if there was any decision on the climate that she regretted her would have done differently. she said, she has been motivated by the climate change issue through her political career. she said when she was environment minister in the

1990's, if there was one thing she would have done differently, perhaps if she really in the kyoto process too much, and she says probably it would have been better to move to the voluntary commitments and sort of put principal behind the paris climate accord. that could have happened more quickly, she said. so she is looking back and saying, well, the climate is a real problem and more needs to be done more quickly. brent: she also used the opportunity to make an urgent appeal to the german population. let's take a listen to what she said. >> i say to everyone who is still unsure, a vaccine is not only protect you but also those close to you, those who you care about, those who are connected to, those who you love. a vaccine is not only protect against severe illness but also against the restrictions that we now live under. this means that the more people who get vaccinated, the freer we will be, not only as

individuals, but also as a society. brent: simon, we have an appeal therefrom the chancellor. people, these get vaccinated. it is not the first appeal she has made in her 16 years in power. how did it strike you? simon: well, indeed, and she sometimes does use these press conferences to make appeals directly to the public. there was a famous "you can do this" back in 2050 -- "we can do this" in 2015 about migration and the large numbers coming to germany back then. she was sending that message to the german public. i think this press conference was mainly a legacy press conference, if you like, looking back at her record, looking at all the challenges, the climate, financial crisis, the pandemic,

migration, and, of worst, all the changes in germany following german unification -- german reunification. all of that has been part of her time. she was thinking about all of these subjects today. she said one of those were killian sentences, politics has to deal with -- she said one of those sentences, politics has to deal with the problems in front of it. and you do get the sense that when she talks, ultimately, any problem can be solved. brent: this was her last summer press conference. did you get the feeling she is ready to bid farewell to politics in a few months? the time is almost over. simon: well, if she is keen to leave, she certainly was not letting on, nor did she reveal what she plans to do after she has left office. angela merkel seems to really enjoy the job of being a politician. she talks about all the issues,

the issues she is dealing with now, corona, the pandemic, and the floods crisis, and so many other things. she talks in this scientific, objective sort of way, we know that about her, but, today, and her meeting to the press, she said i am keen to know what people are going to ask me. she is curious. she seems to not have lost passion for politics. of course, that is something that i think people have warmed to as they have watched her grow over the 16 years that she has been in office. brent: to maintain that passion, not every politician can say that. simon young in berlin, thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. u.s. prosecutors announced a multimillion dollar deal with four major pharmaceutical companies accused of fueling the opioid epidemic. lawsuits against drugmakers --

drugmakers would be dropped in exchange for up to $26 billion to fund addiction treatment and prevention services. the deal still needs approval from local governments. more than 200 african migrants have climbed a six meter high expense to enter spain's northern enclave. many are sub-saharan africans who have waited for a chance to enter the european union. they will now be put into quarantine as a percussion against the curb -- as a per caution against the coronavirus. several people who took part in a violent assault against pro policy protesters are behind bars. back in 2019, a mob of 100 government supporters attacked people who were returning from a democracy rally. a memorial service has been held in munich, germany, to commemorate nine people killed by the right-wing extremist five years ago. the 18-year-old gunman fired at

people in a shopping center before turning the gun on himself. authorities said the attacker had racist motives. jihadist attacks along several borders have forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. many of them are children who are not only missing out on an education but also missing out on meals every day. our dw correspondant traveled with unicef to a camp in one of the worst affected regions, a camp any children now call hom >> it is lunchtime, but some of the children are not eating now. there is not enough for everyone. so, they take turns. the days where they all get to eat our good days. >> when my father was alive, we had enough to eat. we were grateful to god, but now

we do not have enough food. fred: she was being raised just by her father when terrorists came to her home three years ago. she saw how they ti him up and shot him. she was just nine. >> they put my father in front of the shop and then they killed him. they left our neighbor tied up and just left. fred: that is when her uncle stepped in, taking her and her sisters along with his family out of the region, to this cam she would like to take them all home. >> we need security. we can return to work, our children could go to school, and hospitals could function if the military could attack us in our villages. our life would be much better. fred: the family has been here

for three years. that is a quarter of rachida's life. they are just a few of the millions across niger in camps like this. the un says more than 4 million people need humanitarian assistance in niger. more than half of that number are children. but there is limited access to these communities due to their rising threat across niger. without food, shelter, and education, especially for children, their future is at stake. kids like these are getting the call from unicef, appealing for more than 100 million u.s. dollars to fund the work in niger. but there is no vacation for rachida and other children of the camp.

>> i want to be a doctor. it is my real desire. my father used to help people when he was alive. the people here are suffering without health care, so i want to study and be a doctor. fred: that will become more difficult for her the longer she is stuck in the camp without being able to go to school. brent: here in europe, norway is marking the 10th anniversary of a deadly attack by a right-wing extremist. on this day in 2011, a bomb was set off in oslo, killing eight. the bomber then traveled to a youth summer camp on an island and shot dead 69 people, most of them teenagers. [those ringing -- [bells ringing]

memorial services were held across the country today. survivors and relatives remember those who lost their lives. this metal read -- reed is engraved with the names of the victims. the norwegian prime minister said the attack taught the nationo stand up against extremism. >> we must not let hate stand unopposed. the terror showed us it was necessary to strengthen preparedness in norway. we have worked on that systematically. in the 10 years that have passed, we met all the recommendations of the july 22 recommendation, norway's ability to deal with serious crime is stronger than ever. brent: a decade since that attack, many of the survivors feel norway hasn't truly faced up to that ideology of hate that drove those acts of terror.

in the run-up to the anniversary, some have gone back to the island to tell their stories. >> one victim is returning to the place that changed her life on the same boat that carried the attacker 10 years ago. >> i have been back here several times. it is just when i'm going over now, i feel like it is good, it is like coming home to a place which means a lot in my life. >> she was 16 when the massacre took place, enjoying the labour party's camping trip on the small island, together with hundreds of other young people. in the afternoon of the 22nd of july, 2011, a car bomb exploded outside the office in the norwegian capital. eight people died and scores were injured.

the attacker was dressed as a policeman and his target was the labour party's youth summer camp. he took the ferry to the island and ened fire for more than one hour. 69 people lost their lives on the island that day. about 100 were wounded. most of them were teenagers, like this victim. >> i am always thinking about how young they were. and they were 16 and 17 and 18, and at that time, it was mostly the start of losing your friends. today, it is the start of you don't get to know them when they should have been 26, 27 or 30 years old. >> many hope norway's worst

massacre would change the country for better, but many survivors feel that the far-right ideology that nurtured the attack is still present. 10 years later, they are still fighting for their vision of an antiracist norway. brent: organizers of the tokyo olympics have fired the director of the opening ceremonies a day before the games are supposed to begin. this is another setback for the games that have been hit hard by scandals. he was dismissed after the holocaust joke he made on a comedy show in the 1990's. footage of that circulated recently on social media. he apologized and said the remarks were extremely an appropriate. the games are scheduled to begin in tokyo tomorrow after a year delay. how they are to be seen, but

after sexism, bribery, and the onset of a pandemic, the fact they are beginning at all could be seen as a eat in itself. for tokyo 2020, coronavirus hasn't been the only concern. typhoon and earthquake warnings threatened to derail or disrupt the olympics. the organizing committee was hit by sexism and bribery scandals. a recent poll showed that 60% of people still want games to be canceled, but that could cost the ioc billions broadcast rights income. already dozens of people arriving have tested positi for covid, including several athletes wh the olympic village bubble. on the sporting side, tokyo 2020 will feature five new sports, baseball and softball return for the first time since 2009, while surfing, skateboarding and karate make their debut. most 49% of participants are

women. one new zealand weightlifter will be the first openly transgender athlete to compete the games. for the second time, the refugee team will take part with some 29 athletes. meanwhile, robots will make their olympic debut, helping volunteers at events. despite some high-profile absences, the games will feature stars like japanese tennis player naomi osaka. american gymnast simoneiles is hunting to become the first woman in over five decades to win back to back all around titles. in swimming, there is a possible seven gold medals targeted, while kevin durant is one of the biggest names that tokyo 2020 and eight stacked and under pressure usa basketball team. a 12-year-old syrian table tennis player is set to become the youngest olympian featured in some 52 years.

while the 79-year-old japanese equestrian rider is the oldest athlete competing. athletes will perform without fans in the stands. japan entered its foth state emergency. according to the ioc, the show must go on. brent: you are watching dw news. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. tonight, there is now nothing standing in that nordstrom two pipeline between russia and germany, and ukraine is worried. we will be right back. ♪

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>> emmanuel macron's special meeting this us the protocols are to be adjusted. meanwhile, morocco is to sue the authors of the news story for defamation. french police under pressure as a legal move brings accusations of human rights violations.