Questions raised over lack of warning as death toll passes 150 and villages are left without drinking water, power or gas

Germany is asking itself how one of the world’s richest countries managed to be taken by surprise by last week’s extreme weather events, as more details emerge of how early warnings about record rainfall and expected floods did not make their way to the communities most at risk.

In Erftstadt, south of Cologne, where a flooded gravel quarry swallowed up cars, houses and parts of a historic castle, residents who had installed the federal government’s weather warning app were advised on Wednesday to stay inside their house.

At least 58 people have died and dozens more were missing in Germany on Thursday as swollen rivers caused by record rainfall across western Europe swept through towns and villages. Many of the victims died around the wine-growing region of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate state, police said, and dozens were still unaccounted for, after the Ahr river that flows into the Rhine broke its banks and brought down half a dozen houses

• At least 58 dead in Germany as heavy rains bring catastrophic flooding
  

More missing as buildings give way amid heavy rain and flooding

At least 38 people have died and dozens are missing or awaiting rescue from rooftops after heavy rain and floods caused buildings to collapse in two western German states.

Up to 70 people were reported missing after several houses collapsed overnight in Schuld in the Eifel mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate state.