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European floods and climate change

Eighty people dead and hundreds unaccounted for after Germany floods.

At least 80 people have died and hundreds more are unaccounted for in Germany after some of the worst flooding in decades.

Record rainfall in western Europe caused rivers to burst their banks, devastating the region.

Belgium has reported at least 12 dead and further flooding has affected the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

Radio 4 Today's Justin Webb spoke to Philippe Devos, a hospital doctor in Liège, Belgium, whose parents’ home was evacuated; Malika Fachrou, a freelance journalist in Düsseldorf, Germany; Stephen Mayer, German federal minister of the interior; and Professor Stefan Rahmstorf, head of earth system analysis at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

With analysis from Jenny Hill, Âé¶¹Éç Berlin correspondent in Nürnberg south of the Ahr valley, Rhineland palatinate.

(Image: Heavy rain floods in streets of Hagen, Germany; Credit: European Pressphoto Agency)

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16 minutes

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