As Floodwaters Ebb in Europe, Death Toll Passes 165

As waters receded on Saturday, Germans in the country’s west surveyed scenes of destruction, grieved over a rising death toll and confronted questions about how the country’s flood control systems had been so quickly overwhelmed by one of the most extreme rainfalls on record.

The death toll in Germany climbed to at least 143 on Saturday, while the toll across the border in Belgium stood at 24, the authorities there said. The count rose most sharply in Germany’s Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate State, where the police said that more than 90 people had died and the authorities feared that the number could yet grow.