The prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and candidate for chancellor of the Union, Armin Laschet, has promised quick help after the storm.

"We will not leave the municipalities and those affected alone, but as a state provide help so that North Rhine-Westphalia stands together in solidarity in this situation," said Laschet on Thursday during a visit to Hagen.

"We will deal with the consequences of this catastrophe in solidarity."

Jonas Jansen

Business correspondent in Düsseldorf.

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After the severe storm, the Cologne police reported 20 deaths in the region.

In addition to two deaths found in Cologne, 15 have been reported from Euskirchen and three from Rheinbach, the police said on Thursday afternoon.

Prime Minister Laschet had broken off his trip to southern Germany the evening before and stayed in Hagen.

He canceled his appointment at the CSU retreat in Seeon that morning and first drove to Altena, a city that was particularly hard hit by the floods.

A firefighter was killed there, another in the neighboring town of Werdohl.

“I spoke to many residents who lost everything almost overnight.

It is now important that help comes here quickly, ”said Laschet.

He thanked the thousands of volunteer helpers, as well as the fire brigade and the Federal Armed Forces, who had ensured in Hagen, for example, that no district was sealed off.

His thoughts are with the families of those who have died.

"We do not yet have a precise picture of the victims we have to complain about in the entire state of North Rhine-Westphalia," said Laschet.

The state police use helicopters to search for missing people.

The state cabinet is due to hold a special session on Friday.

“We will be confronted with such events again and again.

That means that we need more speed with the measures to protect the climate, ”said Laschet.

“Climate change does not occur in a single federal state, but worldwide.

We need more dynamism. " 

In Hagen, cars had swam through the streets because of the mass of water, and hundreds of residents scooped out their cellars with buckets.

The fire brigade was still in constant use on Thursday.

“The fire brigade simply has no capacity for the residents' cellars.

We have a number of unanswered calls, ”said Hagens Mayor Erik Schulz.

There is currently no assessment of the damage.

"When the water levels are so high, you can not yet record the damage," said Schulz. 

The city also had to contradict numerous false reports that were circulating on the Internet via Twitter.

Sandbags are not distributed, nor is the water supply in Hagen switched off. 

The situation is confusing

The situation is still confusing across the country. Nursing homes were evacuated in several places, and a hospital in Leverkusen had to be evacuated because the river Dhünn overflowed its banks and triggered a short circuit in the emergency power generators. "Some of the medical equipment in the intensive care units had to be powered by batteries," said the clinic. 468 people were affected, and no operations can take place there in the coming days. Patients should turn to surrounding hospitals. 

In Wuppertal, the amount of rain fell on Thursday night that corresponds to one tenth of the average annual precipitation. On Thursday there was still no electricity in many parts of the city, the fire brigade and the city continued to warn residents near the Wupper to be careful. Although the overflow of the dam - as feared that night - had not triggered a tidal wave, the situation was still tense. 

Nearby in the Oberbergischer Kreis in Hückeswagen, the Bevertalsperre was also overflowed because of the heavy rains. More than 1,000 people had to leave their homes, and many were rescued by boat. In the district of Euskirchen in the south of North Rhine-Westphalia, the dam of the Steinbach dam threatened to break. Communication in the district had already largely failed before, there was no longer any access to some places, and even the emergency calls and the district administration were temporarily unavailable. The administrative authority initially assumed eight deaths on Thursday.

In Cologne, the fire brigade found two dead in their water-filled cellars late on Wednesday evening. “My thoughts are with the relatives. The anxious gaze also goes to the Cologne area, where some dramatic scenes take place, ”said Mayor Henriette Reker on Twitter. The fire brigade in Cologne set up a danger hotline on Thursday, which residents can contact with a special number in the event of any water damage. This is to keep the emergency number free for medical emergencies and fires. 

Traffic routes were also severely restricted in North Rhine-Westphalia. After two bridges collapsed, the police blocked state roads in the Rhein-Sieg district, between the motorway junctions Bliesheim and Meckenheim the motorway 61 was completely blocked, and some sections of the route on the A3 and at the Leverkusen motorway junction were no longer passable. The Deutsche Bahn was affected practically in the entire state: “Due to the large number of disruptions, we ask you to bypass the area of ​​North Rhine-Westphalia as far as possible. Please postpone trips to and from NRW to the next few days if possible, ”said the railway.