Death toll in German floods rises to at least 81

Authorities in Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate said Friday that 50 people have died in devastating floods in the western state, bringing the national death toll to at least 81, with dozens more missing.

BERLIN, Germany (AFP)

The number of dead has gone up to 50 from 28 in the badly hit region, a spokesman for the interior ministry of Rhineland-Palatinate, Timo Haungs, told AFP.

Dozens remain missing in western Germany, raising fears the death toll could rise further following the region's worst floods in living memory.

I fear that we will only see the full extent of the disaster in the coming days, Chancellor Angela Merkel said late Thursday during a visit to Washington. Hundreds missing in Germany after huge floods

Neighboring Belgium counted at least nine dead, while Luxembourg and the Netherlands were also severely affected by the torrents of water, with thousands evacuated in the city of Maastricht.

But Germany's toll was by far the highest at 59, and likely to rise with large numbers of people still missing in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, the hardest-hit states.