Knee-deep in sewage: German rescuers race to avert health emergency in flood areas

Debris lie on a street following heavy rainfalls, in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate state, Germany, July 20, 2021. REUTERS/Christian Mang

AHRWEILER, Germany (Reuters) - Red Cross volunteers and emergency services in Germany deployed emergency stand-pipes and mobile vaccination vans to flood-devastated regions on Tuesday, attempting to avert a public health emergency.

Last week's freak floods killed more than 160 people, and wrecked basic services in the hilly villages of the Ahrweiler district, leaving thousands of residents knee-deep in debris and without sewage or drinking water.