BERLIN, 22 July 2021, (TON): A relief official dampened hopes of finding more survivors in the rubble of villages devastated by floods in western Germany, as a poll showed many Germans felt policymakers had not done enough to protect them.

At least 170 people died in last week’s flooding, Germany’s worst natural disaster in more than half a century, and thousands went missing.

Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland told “we are still looking for missing persons as we clear roads and pump water out of basements,” Sabine Lackner, deputy chief of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW).

She said “any victims that are found now are likely to be dead.”

For immediate relief, the federal government will initially provide up to 200 million euros ($235.5 million) in emergency aid, and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said more funds can be made available if needed.

That will come on top of at least 250 million euros to be provided from the affected states to repair buildings and damaged local infrastructure and to help people in crisis situations.