The CDU boss and Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet canceled his eagerly awaited visit to the CSU regional group in Kloster Seeon this Thursday.

In view of the storm situation in Laschet's state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the rejection of the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister was a joint decision by the CDU and CSU, said the CSU state group.

CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt showed understanding that Laschet had to stay in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Laschet wanted to talk to the CSU members of the Bundestag about the election campaign in Seeon.

The past few days, the CDU and CSU have been arguing about possible tax relief for citizens.

Laschet currently sees no financial leeway for this, but the CSU insists on appropriate agreements in the election program.

Tense situation in North Rhine-Westphalia

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the situation remains tense after the continuous rain in western Germany.

After the heavy rain has subsided, the fire brigade and other emergency services are fighting in many places with a worsening flood situation.

Laschet wanted to get an idea of ​​the situation on Thursday morning in the city of Hagen, which was particularly badly affected by the flooding.

There, the flooding of the Volme exacerbated the situation on Wednesday evening.

Around 440 firefighters and technical aid workers were there alone.

In the Euskirchen district, the dam of the Steinbach dam threatened to break on Thursday night.

The situation was also critical at times at the Bevertalsperre and the Wupper Reservoirs.

There, however, the water could flow away in a controlled manner, as the fire brigade announced.

In Solingen, an 82-year-old man died after falling in the flooded basement of his house.

In the fall, his head got under water, said a spokeswoman for the Wuppertal police on Thursday.

190,000 households without electricity

Two firefighters died in the rescue operations in the Sauerland. A 46-year-old firefighter fell into the water on Wednesday afternoon in Altena after rescuing a man from a flooded district and was driven off. Almost two hours later, a 52-year-old firefighter collapsed while working in the area of ​​the Werdohl-Elverlingsen power plant. Police said he died on Wednesday evening despite resuscitation and relief measures. According to initial findings, the accident was a health emergency.

In many places people had to be brought to safety from the floods.

There were also large-scale power outages.

A spokeswoman for the network operator Westnetz reported on Thursday morning that around 190,000 households were without electricity because substations and other systems were flooded and had to be switched off.

The Bergisches Land and the Eifel are particularly affected.

Rail traffic is also severely affected by the floods and continuous rain.

The railway called for trips to and from North Rhine-Westphalia to be postponed if possible.

Due to line closures, numerous S-Bahn and regional lines do not run or only to a limited extent, as Deutsche Bahn announced on Thursday.

There are also significant weather effects on the motorways.

The low "Bernd" determines the weather in Germany with warm, humid air masses. According to the DWD, it will remain changeable in the next few days with showers and thunderstorms, sometimes with heavy rain.