Nearly 130 people died in the floods which affected several European countries including Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Western Germany is particularly affected with at least 108 dead according to the latest report on Friday evening. 

The death toll from the devastating floods in Europe climbed to nearly 130 on Friday, most of them in Germany, as many people are missing, raising fears of an even more serious tragedy.

It is the worst natural disaster in this country in more than half a century.

Neighboring Belgium is also paying a heavy price with at least 20 deaths, according to the government's latest report.

"It could be that these floods are the most catastrophic that our country has ever known," said Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, decreeing Tuesday a day of national mourning.

The torrential rains also caused extensive damage in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

Dozens of people still missing

But it was western Germany that was most affected by the flash floods, with at least 108 dead alone, according to the latest report on Friday evening.

"The number of deaths, which we are discovering, has increased," Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz said in the evening, confirming five new deaths.

This region is one of the two most affected with neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia.

>> REPORT -

 "It's gone so high": in Germany, the inhabitants shocked by the floods

Many localities in this area present a picture of desolation.

And the balance sheet could climb further: "As the cellars are emptied or water is pumped, we keep falling on the bodies of people who have left their lives in these waves, which means that I cannot comment on the final assessment, "lamented Roger Lewentz.

Dozens of people are still missing in these two regions.

Near Cologne in Erfstadt, a portion of the village literally collapsed on itself following a landslide on Friday.

The spectacular images of the disaster area showed a vast yawning crater into which masses of earth, brown water and debris were pouring out.

The authorities warned that several people had lost their lives there.

These are mainly small streams, little protected, which suddenly emerged from their beds under the effect of rains in the form of a deluge, invading dozens of inhabited areas often built on flood-prone areas.

The only positive point: the water level began to drop on Friday.

Risks of floods in Switzerland

Nearly a thousand soldiers were mobilized to help with relief and clearing operations.

Because now the repairs must begin: gas or telephone lines are unusable in many places, hundreds of people are homeless.

In Belgium, around 20 people are still missing and 21,000 inhabitants are deprived of electricity. The army was deployed in four of the ten provinces of the country to take part in the relief efforts and in particular in the numerous evacuations. The situation could also worsen in Switzerland, with the risk of flooding in several lakes and rivers.