In pictures: The week the world flooded

Germany and Belgium hard-hit by record rainfall as rivers burst banks and thousands evacuated

Thursday 15 July 2021 20:29 EDT

30 people missing as storms cause flooding across central Germany

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Germany and Belgium have been hit by record rainfall this week, with at least 120 people killed and hundreds more missing as rivers burst their banks, buildings collapsed and cars were swept away by flood water.

Most fatalities occurred in Germany, with the worst-affected states being North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate but the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland have also been hard-hit by torrential summer downpours as flood warnings are issued and thousands of people are evacuated.

The disaster comes in the same week that passengers were forced to wade through waist-high dirty water to access the New York City subway and whole swathes of London were left underwater by unseasonable extreme weather, leading many to conclude that the climate crisis is to blame.