New Delhi

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Saturday that storms and subsequent floods that have inundated Europe are "without doubt" the result of climate change. Germany and Belgium are the worst-hit countries but several towns on southern Netherlands have suffered damage due to floods as well.

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No deaths have been reported in the Netherlands. Germany has not been so lucky and accounts for most of the 150+ deaths that have been recorded till now.

Rutte was visiting the Netherlands' southern province of Limburg on Friday (local time) when he held Global Warming responsible for the deadly floods. He said that was "without a doubt the case".

"I don't want to make hasty declarations," he said. "But something is really happening, let's be clear."

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In Pics | Fatal flooding in Western Germany

ANP news agency reported that more than one million Euros had been collected for a fund to help worst-hit areas in the Netherlands

To stop any future flood disasters, "the first thing to do, and fortunately we are doing it in the Netherlands, is to give space to rivers", Rutte said.

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The Dutch reshaped the areas around rivers in the country after major flooding in 1993 and 1995 when 250,000 people and one million animals had to be evacuated.

More than two billion euros was invested to widen riverbanks. The project was completed in 2019.

(With inputs from agencies)