Merkel shocked by 'surreal' flood devastation as death toll rises to 156

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on a visit to the flood-stricken region of Germany that she was horrified by the "surreal, eerie" devastation she witnessed, pledging quick aid to rebuild.

"It is shocking - I can almost say that the German language doesn't have words for the destruction that's been wreaked," she told reporters.

The death toll from devastating floods has risen to 156 in Germany, police said, bringing the total to at least 183 fatalities from the disaster in western Europe.

In Rhineland-Palatinate state alone, one of the worst-hit regions in western Germany, police reported 110 dead, up from 98 previously.

"It is feared that other victims will be added," police said in their statement, which also said 670 people were injured in the region alone.

At least 27 people have also lost their lives in neighbouring Belgium.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo visited the flooded areas of Rochefort and Pepinster together on Saturday.

"Europe is with you," Ms von der Leyen tweeted afterwards. "We are with you in mourning and we will be with you in rebuilding."

Belgium has declared Tuesday a day of official mourning.

One person also died in floods in southern Germany, in Bavaria on the Austrian border, which was hit by torrential rains yesterday.

In Austria, firefighters were on high alert in the Salzburg and Tyrol regions while the historic town of Hallein was under water.

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

Further east, in the Saxony region on the border between Germany and the Czech Republic, rivers also rose last night, causing damage.

Rescue crews in both Germany and Belgium were sifting through rubble to find victims, often in dangerous conditions.

The historic downpours also battered Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Ms 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, Ms 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 euro.

The disaster has increasingly taken on political overtones in Germany, which heads to the polls on 26 September for a general election that will mark the end of Chancellor 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.

Armin Laschet, the premier of hard-hit North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) state and frontrunner in the race for the chancellery, said efforts to tackle global warming should be "speeded up".

But Mr Laschet, who heads Merkel's CDU party currently leading in opinion polls, scored an own goal yesterday when he was filmed laughing in the devastated town of Erftstadt in NRW, where a landslide was triggered by the floods.

In the footage, Mr Laschet could be seen chatting and joking in the background as President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave a statement expressing his sympathies to grieving families.

"Laschet laughs while the country cries," wrote the top-selling Bild daily.

Mr Laschet later apologised on Twitter for the "inappropriate" moment.

The scale of the flood impact was gradually becoming clear in Germany, with damaged buildings being assessed, some of which will have to be demolished, and efforts under way to restore gas, electricity and telephone services.

In some areas, soldiers used armoured vehicles to clear the debris clogging streets.

In NRW, divers were sent in to search submerged homes and vehicles.

Local authorities in NRW and Rhineland-Palatinate said dozens of people remain unaccounted for across both states.

They have stressed, however, that disruption to communication networks made a precise assessment difficult, and the real number of missing could be lower.

Roger Lewentz, interior minister for Rhineland-Palatinate, said more than 670 people were injured.

"I've lived here my whole life, I was born here, and I've never seen anything like it," said Gregor Degen, a baker in the devastated spa town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, near Schuld.