Dozens of people have died as a result of heavy rains in western Germany

In western Germany, heavy rains caused rivers to burst their banks, destroying homes and killing several people.

On Thursday, police said four people were killed and 70 were missing in the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Ahrweiler after the Ahr River, which flows into the Rhine, burst its banks and swept away half a dozen homes.

Two people were found dead in flooded cellars in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, with more deaths reported in Solingen, Unna, and Rheinbach, according to police.

Two firefighters died in the state on Wednesday night, one drowning and the other collapsing after a rescue mission.

On Thursday morning, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter that the EU “is ready to help” and that countries affected by the floods can use the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Rainfall in the region over the past 24 hours, according to weather experts, has been unprecedented.drag_indicator More heavy rain is expected later Thursday and Friday in southwestern Germany, on the upper reaches of the German Rhine, according to the German Weather Service.