UPDATE 3-German Home Minister dismisses criticism of lack of flood warnings

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* Minister says warnings should be dealt with locally

* Critics say the population has not been warned enough

* Death toll rises to over 160 in Germany (add more details)

By Andreas Kranz and Leon Kugeler

STEINBACHTAL DAM, Germany, July 19 (Reuters) – German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has dismissed criticism that the government failed to warn people enough of last week’s floods, as the number death toll from the country’s worst natural disaster in nearly six decades has exceeded 160 people.

Floods have devastated parts of Western Europe since last Wednesday, the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as parts of Belgium, among the worst-hit places.

In the district of Ahrweiler, south of Cologne, at least 117 people have been killed, and that number is expected to rise as clarifications reveal more casualties. The high death toll raised questions about why so many appeared to have been surprised by the flash floods.

Michael Theurer, a senior member of the opposition Free Democrats (FDP), said in an interview with the DPA news agency that the toll revealed a “systemic failure”. Susanne Hennig-Wellsow, leader of the left-wing Linke party, called for Seehofer’s resignation on Sunday.

Seehofer said in response that the German National Meteorological Service (DWD) is issuing warnings to the 16 German states and from there to the districts and communities that decide locally how to respond.

“It would be totally inconceivable for such a disaster to be managed centrally from any location. You need local knowledge,” Seehofer told reporters on Monday.

“It is not Berlin that declares the state of emergency, it is done locally,” he said, adding that the channels of communication for which the federal government was responsible had worked.

Seehofer was speaking during a tour of the flooded areas in which he visited the district of Ahrweiler as well as the Steinbachtal dam, which had been in danger of bursting for several days, causing the evacuation of thousands of people downstream.

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Local authorities said on Monday that the dam had been stabilized and residents could return to their homes later today.

‘TERRIFYING SCENES’

The worst flooding has seen entire communities cut off without electricity or communications. Residents were trapped in their homes by the rapidly rising waters and a number of houses collapsed, leaving what German Chancellor Angela Merkel called “terrifying” scenes on Sunday.

The DWD weather service warned Monday last week that heavy rains were heading towards western Germany and flooding was very likely. On Wednesday morning, he said on Twitter that the risk of flooding was increasing and called on the population to seek advice from local authorities.

The German government is preparing a relief plan for hard-hit communities in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as Bavaria and Saxony, where further flooding occurred over the weekend.

A government source told Reuters on Monday that immediate aid worth around 400 million euros ($ 340 million) was being discussed, half of which would be paid by the federal government and the other half. by states.

The relief plan, which is also expected to include billions of euros for longer-term reconstruction efforts, is due to be presented to cabinet on Wednesday. (Reporting by Reuters TV, Holger Hansen, Anneli Palmen, Andreas Rinke and Matthias Inverardi; written by Maria Sheahan; edited by Kirsti Knolle and Alex Richardson)

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