In pictures The week the world flooded

Germany and Belgium have been hit by record rainfall this week, with at least 44 people killed and dozens more missing as rivers burst their banks, buildings collapsed and cars were swept away by flood water.

Most of the 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 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.

Here’s a collection of some of the most extraordinary images from this week’s devastating storms.

Germany

An aerial photograph showing the severe flooding in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia

(AFP/Getty)

Hagen’s flooded city centre

(AFP/Getty)

Fire engines and a car are parked on a flooded road in Hagen

(Alex Talash/DPA/AP)

Houses are submerged by the overflowing river banks in Erdorf, Rhineland-Palatinate

Flooding destroys the village of Schuld in Ahrweiler

Local residents inspect the damage in Schuld

Belgium

Emergency workers wade through the water in Ensival

A man wades through the water to reach cars submerged by the heavy rains in Ensival

Cars piled up at a roundabout in Verviers

(AFP/Getty)

A car floats in the Meuse River in Liege

A police officer watches as water from the Meuse breaches a barrier at the crossing with the Ourthe in Liege

(Anthony Dehez/AFP/Getty)

Netherlands

Flood waters rush through the centre of Valkenburg aan de Geul

(Sem Van Der Wal/AFP/Getty)

Image taken with a drone shows caravans and campers under water at the De Hatenboer campsite in Roermond

(Rob Engelaar/EPA)

Switzerland

The village square of Stansstad in the canton of Nidwalden on Lake Vierwaldstaettersee is covered with flood water in Switzerland

(Urs Flueeler/EPA)

London

A flooded ground floor flat near Portobello Road on Tuesday

High water outside Euston Station

(Network Rail)

A car struggling along Turnpike Lane in north London

Floodwaters submerge cars in Raynes Park in Wimbledon

United States

A person wades through the flood water near the 157th Street metro station

A man holds a bucket in front of his car, which stalled in floodwaters in Lodi, New Jersey

(Kevin R Wexler/AP)

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