in ahrweiler, everything, everyone, is covered in a thick, sticky mud.power, nowhere to buy food, not much mobile reception. but they're doing what they can. willie told us they've never seen anything like it here, not even in his parents' grandparents' time. "the water rose two metres in 15 or 20 minutes," he told us. "people tried to save their things, went into their basements and, unfortunately, got trapped. i was lucky," he said, "i could get out the back of my basement." around 100 people have died in this district alone. many more are still missing. there was so little time to run, people tell us. look at the force of this flood. and the damage it left behind. the water's receding, but the number of dead is expected to continue to rise. search and rescue, it's feared, will soon be a recovery operation. today, the german president described the loss as heartbreaking. translation: it's a time of misery, and in times i of misery, our country sticks together. i'm glad that people, notjust here in the region, but from all over germany, send messages of

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler.health secretary, sajid javid, is self—isolating after testing positive for coronavirus. mrjavid, who's fully vaccinated, said he'd felt a "bit groggy" on friday night. it's understood he met the prime minister on friday, but it's not yet clear whether boris johnson will have to self—isolate. it comes just ahead of the government lifting covid restrictions in england on monday. the decision to keep quarantine rules in place for people returning to england, wales or scotland from france — even if they are fully vaccinated — has been heavily criticised by travel firms. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley reports. downing street yesterday. the health secretary outside number 10, facemask in hand, but this morning he tested positive for coronavirus. i was feeling a bit groggy last night so i took a lateral flow test this morning and it has come out positive, so i am now self—isolating at home with my family until i get the results of a pcr test. i'm grateful that i have had two jabs o

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler.the devastation and people are just trying to get their heads around what they are seeing. it has, as angela merkel described, a catastrophe for the people here. when you drive through the small towns, washing machines, trampolines, children's stuff piled onto the floor, covered in this sludge that has been excavated, dredged from people's homes. it is overwhelming, quite frankly. angela merkel has been visiting one of the badly affected areas, a place called nuremberg and damien mcguinness joins us now. that nuremberg and damien mcguinness joins us nova— joins us now. that is right, angela merkel is just _ joins us now. that is right, angela merkel isjust a _ joins us now. that is right, angela merkel isjust a few— joins us now. that is right, angela merkel isjust a few kilometres . joins us now. that is right, angela i merkel is just a few kilometres away from this— merkel is just a few kilometres away from this rescue centre. she has been _ from this rescue centre. she has been talk

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler. 0ur correspondent damian mcguiness is in?n germany. a short time ago he told me about the scale of the rescue operation. beside this building, there is a centre — beside this building, there is a centre where all the emergency services — centre where all the emergency services are gathered. there are about_ services are gathered. there are about 3—400 emergency service vehicles — about 3—400 emergency service vehicles out there, hundreds of ambulances from different organisations, army vehicles. they are being _ organisations, army vehicles. they are being deployed constantly, looking — are being deployed constantly, looking for people. i talked to some of those _ looking for people. i talked to some of those rescue workers last night and they— of those rescue workers last night and they were telling me that the difficulty— and they were telling me that the difficulty is that the longer that this goes on, the more rather than looking _ this goes on, the more rather than looking for— this goes on, the more rather than looking

in ahrweiler, everything, everyone, is covered in a thick, sticky mud. there is no power, nowhere to buy food, not much mobile reception. but they're doing what they can. willie told us they've never seen anything like it here, not even in his parents', grandparents�*, time. "the water rose two metres in 15 or 20 minutes," he told us. "people tried to save their things, went on to their basements, and unfortunately got trapped. i was lucky," he said, "i could get out the back of my basement." around 100 people have died in this district alone. many more are still missing. there was so little time to run, people tell us. look at the force of this flood. and the damage it left behind. the water's receding, but the number of dead is expected to continue to rise.

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler.people are known to have died in neighbouring belgium, where rescue operations are continuing. from there, anna holligan sent this report. this is the revenues and if you look carefully you can see some of the degree has been carried downstream and the smell of oil, the stands is something that you can smell all around here. this is the belgian city of liege and rescue workers were sent from italy, france and austria to help with the recovery effort here and the evacuations, to. most people are now returning to their homes but the belgian prime minister has declared july 20 a national day of mourning. at least 20 people have been killed here alone, they say they have never experienced catastrophic floods of this scale before. now, across the border, not far from scale before. now, across the border, not farfrom here in the netherlands, the emergency services are still trying to reconnect the power supplies. but there, so much of the country lies ten metres below sea level. they have so

in ahrweiler, everything, everyone, is covered in a thick, sticky mud.reception. but they're doing what they can. willie told us they've never seen anything like it here, not even in his parents�* grandparents�* time. "the water rose two metres in 15 or 20 minutes," he told us. "people tried to save their things, went into their basements and, unfortunately, got trapped. i was lucky," he said, "i could get out the back of my basement." around 100 people have died in this district alone. many more are still missing. there was so little time to run, people tell us. look at the force of this flood. and the damage it left behind. the water's receding, but the number of dead is expected to continue to rise. search and rescue, it's feared, will soon be a recovery operation. so many people just want to help, donations piling up, overwhelming the volunteers at this makeshift warehouse. translation: i can't imagine what it must be like to be affected. - that's why i'm here — to help people. in ahrweiler, across the region, lives turned upside down. this is amelie

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler. 0ur correspondent is at a donation centre.f the rescue operation. there is a search — scale of the rescue operation. there is a search operation _ scale of the rescue operation. there is a search operation out _ scale of the rescue operation. there is a search operation out right - scale of the rescue operation. ti” is a search operation out right now, right beside this building. there is a centre where all of the emergency services are gathered. there are about 3—400 emergency service vehicles out there, hundreds of ambulances from different organisations. army vehicles as well. they are being deployed constantly, looking for people. i talk to some of those rescue workers last night and they were telling me that the difficulty is that the longer this goes on, rather than looking for people to rescue, they are looking for bodies. that is the tragic reality. time is of the essence, and the difficulty is that we have no idea how many people might still be out there because a lot of the roads are impassable, you can't get through

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler.unned a continent unfamiliar with such widespread weather induced destruction. neighbourhoods have been ripped apart by the rain. the bbc�*s anna holligan has been to meet people on one street in the dutch village of gelle close to both the german and belgian borders. clayfield street lies deep inside the dutch disaster zone. bridget and her husband peter came home to this. 0thers bridget and her husband peter came home to this. others are still cautiously navigating their way back. this is cecile. cecile runs a fishing lake which is just cecile runs a fishing lake which isjust behind cecile runs a fishing lake which is just behind these trees but you can see here the water is everywhere. everywhere, yes. water is everywhere. eve here, es. . everywhere, yes. where are the fish? all over _ everywhere, yes. where are the fish? all over the _ everywhere, yes. where are the fish? all over the place. - everywhere, yes. where are the fish? all over the place. it's - fish? all over the place.

anna holligan, bbc news, ahrweiler. let's look at some of the day's other news. the indian government's former chief economic advisor has concluded that india's deathtoll from coronavirus could be ten times the official figures. new research suggests the number of "excess deaths" in the 18 months of the pandemic is likely to be, between 3 million and 4.7 million. the government has recorded a14,000 deaths. former hollywood producer harvey weinstein has been extradited from new york to california to face trial on rape and assault charges. weinstein was convicted in new york in 2020 for sexual assault and rape and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. in los angeles, he is wanted for trial on charges of attacking five women from 2004 to 2013. the chair of former president trump's 2017 inaugural committee has been arrested on foreign lobbying charges. federal prosecutors allege that thomas barrack conspired to act as an unregistered foreign agent on behalf of the united arab emerates, while mr trump was a candidate, and then president. according to a spokesperson, mr

our europe correspondentjenny hill is in one of the worst hit regions in ahrweiler.e destruction for yourself. this is an ahrweiler, in this district alone police said this morning 90 people have now been confirmed dead and they expect number to rise, and when you look around, when you look at destruction, how vast that water is flowing, you can see why, there are still people unaccounted for. it is difficult for the authorities to tell us how many are missing because mobile phone networks are down in many of the affected areas. they are continuing with their search and rescue operations. here in parts of the town which are habitable, they are trying their best to clear up, everything and everyone is covered in a thick sticky mud. there is no power here, they are relying on generators where they can get them, know where to buy food, there are people coming in with a few donations, they are doing what they can help by the fire service and the army. i mentioned that search and rescue operation, it is ongoing. this morning we were at a mustering point for emergency serv

anna halligan, bbc news, ahrweiler.onaire founder of amazon, has been to space and back, in the first crewed flight, of his rocket ship, new shepard. 0n the flight was the oldest person who has been to space — 82—year—old wally funk, and the youngest, 18—year—old 0liver daemen. 0ur correspondent sophie long reports from texas. boarding his 60 foot suborbital rocket. he was not nervous, he said, just excited. this was notjust about realising a lifelong dream, but expanding his ever growing empire beyond the grip of gravity. with him on this first fully autonomous flight, three other civilians. his brother, mark, 18—year—old dutch student 0liver daemen, and 82—year—old trailblazing aviator wally funk. one of mercury 13, a group of women who went through astral testing and training beforejeff bezos was born but never made it to space until now. five, four, three, two, one...... as you can hear, the reusable rocket carrying its first passengers and first paying customer is on its way to space. blast off for new shepard and

in ahrweiler, everything, everyone, is covered in a thick, sticky mud.

in ahrweiler, the medieval walls not enough to shield families from the flood.eek ago these bars and cafes were buzzing with tourists. now this picturesque river town is a disaster zone. 78-year-old marita lost a family member, drowned in his own home she grieves him and her hometown it is incomprehensible, terrible, she says i was born here. i played here as a child. dozens of volunteers helping however they can. niklas trying to help salvage his friend's business so all of this is destroyed? >> yes, washing machines, tvs, radio, everything, multi-media, everything is destroyed. >> reporter: none of this can be saved, right? >> no, none can be saved. >> reporter: it may be years before this town recovers activists call this a warning that climate change can wreak havoc in even the wealthiest countries. >> that is really the climate crisis hitting every spot on earth. nowhere is safe, and this needs to be such a calling for rapid global action on climate change. >> reporter: this region still reeling from a catastrophe that none, not even the youngest, are ever

in the nearby town of ahrweiler, anna holligan has been to visit the homes of the victims of the disastere not convinced the money will reach them anytime soon, so are starting to rebuild on their own. you see? the scenes you cherish for a lifetime. it's the first thing you do. save that. marion could not save her photo albums. but her three children survived. they are alive, they are ok and yeah, that makes me feel really happy. and that's the biggest thing you can get. people who could not get to higher ground did not have a hope. this used to be my kitchen. without sufficient warning, her son was trapped inside. he said "momma, momma, there is a lot of water. "there is a lot of water, there is a man "coming by and he screams, help, help, help and he went "down the water and he comes back up and down again and "then he was gone." here in this village, so many homes that were not washed away by the flood water will remain uninhabitable and unsafe and they have to demolish those first before they can begin the process of rebuilding people's homes and lives again. toothpaste, a candle, the

we were in the nearby medieval town of ahrweiler. homes from the 1500s now caked with mud. cut off during the floods, the town is still without water and electricity. when the floodwaters came through, they ripped apart that home and bridge. it's hard to fathom the force that could tear apart concrete like this. uprooting trees, destroying everything. the town is completely cut off. this man telling us how he escaped to his roof. barely saving his elderly mother from drowning. today, neighbors coming together to salvage what's left. and linsey, i want to show you this massive pile of rubble. this is just a fraction of what was destroyed. and even as the storms move further south and the water starts to recede, fears of houses collapsing and dams breaking means that thousands of people are still evacuated tonight. linsey? >> maggie, thank you. >>> millions here at home in the path of extreme weather. powerful storms rocking the northeast. this image of lightning striking in manhattan. heavy rains, strong winds, and hail pummeling parts of new jersey. but in the west, drought

in the nearby town of ahrweiler, anna holligan has been to visit the homes of the victims of the disasterinced the money will reach them anytime soon, so are starting to rebuild on their own. you see? the scenes you cherish for a lifetime. it's the first thing you do. save that. marion could not save her photo albums. but her three children survived. they are alive, they are ok and yeah, that makes me feel really happy. and that's the biggest thing you can get. people who could not get to higher ground did not have a hope. this used to be my kitchen. without sufficient warning, her son was trapped inside. he said "momma, momma, there is a lot of water. "there is a lot of water, there is a man "coming by and he screams, help, help, help and he went "down the water and he comes back up and down again and "then he was gone." here in this village, so many homes that were not washed away by the flood water will remain uninhabitable and unsafe and they have to demolish those first before they can begin the process of rebuilding people's homes and lives again. toothpaste, a candle, the bare esse

anna holligan reports from ahrweiler.f the villages here that won't washed away have been left uninhabitable and unsafe. many people, politicians, weather experts, have blamed a monumental failure in the system, because flood alerts were given 24—hour is an advance, and yet this is the destruction. remarkably, in this village, everyone managed to get out alive, but if you see, if you look through some of these windows, you can see they are entirely gutted inside these homes. the receding floodwaters have revealed that not only the extensive damage, but the politicians have to answer three questions, really. the first, from the people here, when will the proposed aid package reach the people who need it most? some of these people clearly evacuated. will it change anything that politicians are saying on policy on things like climate change, and should they have acted earlier? how can this have happened in one of the world's well—developed richest and well—developed countries and well—developed countries and 2021. the econom

the worst—affected district has been ahrweiler, in the state of rhineland—palatinate, where 18 peoplethe netherlands have also been badly affected and in belgium six people are known to have died with the city of liege urging all residents to leave. the germany chancellor angela merkel says she's had messages of solidarity from other countries — who have also offered help. and in the past few minutes — borisjohnson says his thoughts are with the families of the victims and those affected, and that the uk is ready to provide any support needed in the rescue and recovery effort. damian mcguinness reports. these are the worst floods to hit this part of western germany in living memory. translation: our community centre wasjust crushed and is stuck - to the bridge over there and a a0 tonne truck must be stuck there as well. a housejust standing over there tilted over entirely. you can imagine this sort of thing happening in asia, but not here. buildings collapsed, whole villages almost destroyed and cars swept away, as streets were turned into raging rivers. dozens of people were trapped

in ahrweiler, everything, everyone, is covered in a thick, sticky mud.r, nowhere to buy food, not much mobile reception. but they're doing what they can. willie told us they've never seen anything like it here, not even in his parents' grandparents' time. "the water rose two metres in 15 or 20 minutes," he told us. "people tried to save their things, went into their basements and, unfortunately, got trapped. i was lucky," he said, "i could get out the back of my basement." around 100 people have died in this district alone. many more are still missing. there was so little time to run, people tell us. look at the force of this flood. and the damage it left behind. the water's receding, but the number of dead is expected to continue to rise. search and rescue, it's feared, will soon be a recovery operation. today, the german president described the loss as heartbreaking. translation: ican't. imagine what it must be like to be affected. that's why i'm here — to help people. in ahrweiler, across the region, lives turned upside down. this is amelie. "the wate

that could not withstand these crushing floods that have killed more than 100 people here in the ahrweiler region alone. not something you expect in a country with such advanced infrastructure and warning systems. after days of swelling rivers, now swelling death tolls as bridges, homes, even swaths of villages vanished. no, not in a beleaguered developing nation but across europe's economic powerhouses like in the tiny german town of ensul. did you ever imagine something like this happening here in germany? >> well, i think not of this magnitude, not of this size. i don't think anyone could have imagined something like this. >> reporter: the devastation so shocking, german chancellor angela merkel struggled to explain it. "i can almost say that the german language doesn't have the words for the destruction," she said. billions will be needed to rebuild in germany alone. some towns are likely gone for good. though both climate scientists and the german chancellor warn extreme weather events are bound to return. one flood isn't an example of climate change, said merkel. but if we look at th

this is the village of bad neuenahr—ahrweiler, in the german region of rhineland—palatinate.d roads washed away, making getting in and out extremely difficult. well, for more on the devastation caused by the flooding, here�*s courtney bembridge. the full extent of the damage is only now becoming clear. houses have been ripped apart and roads have all but disappeared. in western germany, three months of rain fell in just 2a hours. translation: everything was under water within 15 minutes. _ 0urflat, our office, our neighbours�* houses, everywhere was under water. this motorway in north rhine—westphalia was blocked for kilometres as residents tried to get out, but it was too late for others. translation: i grieve for the people who have lost their lives. _ we don�*t know the number, but it will be many. some in the basements of their houses and some who were working as firefighters trying to bring others to safety. across the border in the east of belgium, cars were picked up and carried by the force of the water. this bridge was submerged and covered in debris. in nearby liege

the worst—affected district has been ahrweiler, in the state of rhineland—palatinate, where 18 peopleturned into raging rivers. dozens of people were trapped on the roofs of their houses, waiting for rescue and almost 150,000 homes lost electricity. the whole country is affected. parts of the rhine have now been closed to shipping and across large parts of germany, traffic and rail transport is heavily disrupted. over the past 24 hours, this densely—populated region saw record levels of rainfall. the heavy rain comes after an unusually stormy summer, causing rivers to burst their banks. the impact is being felt elsewhere in europe too. across the border in belgium, buildings were also destroyed as a river burst its banks. at least two people there have died. in western germany, the rain has eased off for now and local people are having to deal with the aftermath, but with so many missing, it�*s also still an emergency situation. with more rain expected in southern germany later today and rivers also at dangerously high levels, other regions are preparing for the worst. after a summer