2021 European floods

2021 European floods
From top:
Flood and damage in Altenahr, Germany; the storm over Europe on 14 July.
Date12–25 July 2021
Location
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Croatia
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • Romania
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom
Deaths243
  • 196 in Germany[1]
  • 43 in Belgium[2]
  • two in Romania[3]
  • one in Italy[4]
  • one in Austria[5]
Property damage€54 billion (2021 Euro)[6]
  • 200,000 properties left without power[7]
Areas affected, EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC)

In July 2021, several European countries were affected by severe floods. Some were catastrophic, causing deaths and widespread damage. The floods started in the United Kingdom as flash floods causing some property damage and inconvenience. Later floods affected several river basins across Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.[8] At least 243 people died in the floods, including 196 in Germany,[9] 43 in Belgium,[2] two in Romania,[3] one in Italy[4] and one in Austria.[5]

Belgian Minister of Home Affairs Annelies Verlinden described the events as "one of the greatest natural disasters our country has ever known." German minister-president Malu Dreyer of the Rhineland-Palatinate state called the floods "devastating". In addition to the confirmed fatalities, the flooding led to widespread power outages, forced evacuations and damage to infrastructure and agriculture in the affected areas. The damage to infrastructure was especially severe in Belgium and Germany.[10] The floods are estimated to have cost up to €2.55 billion (US$3 billion) in insured losses, with the total damage costs being much higher,[11][12] at a minimum of €10 billion (US$11.8 billion).[6] In the aftermath, scientists, activists and reporters all highlighted the connection to global trends in extreme weather, especially more frequent heavy rainfall caused by climate change.[13]

  1. ^ "Almost 200 dead as Germany counts devastating cost of floods". NBC News. 19 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Inondations à Liège: le corps de la dernière personne portée disparue aurait été retrouvé". Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference romania-death was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "Maltempo al Nord, danni e una vittima in Veneto. Albero cade su una funivia". Rainews. 14 July 2021. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Hochwasser in Österreich verlagert sich nach Tirol". Bayerischer Rundfunk (in German). 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  6. ^ a b "ROUNDUP: Munich Re: Naturkatastrophen richten 280 Milliarden Dollar Schaden an". finanz Nachrichten. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Germany and Belgium floods: At least 33 dead and more than 70 missing after heavy rain". Sky News. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  8. ^ "More flooding for Europe". BBC Weather. BBC. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Hochwasser aktuell: Zahl der Toten in Rheinland-Pfalz steigt auf 135 – Mindestens 184 Opfer durch Flut in Deutschland". Die Welt (in German). 22 July 2021. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  10. ^ Benoit, Bertrand; Pancevski, Bojan (16 July 2021). "Germany Flooding Explained: What to Know About the Devastating Downpour". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  11. ^ Luke Gallins (20 July 2021). "Berenberg says European floods to cost reinsurers up to €3bn". Reinsurance News. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  12. ^ Carolyn Cohn; Tom Sims (19 July 2021). "Berenberg sees $2-3 bln reinsurance losses from European floods, overall losses higher". Reuters. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  13. ^ Ajit Niranjan (23 August 2021). "German floods: Climate change made heavy rains in Europe more likely". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.