FLOODING in the German city of Hagen (Klaus Barwinkel/Wikipedia).

The death toll in the massive flooding in Europe has reached 160 as bodies are found as water levels declined.

According to the Associated Press, worst-hit was the German state of Rhineland-Palatine, where 98 people drowned. Large numbers of people remain classified as “missing.” In Belgium, 103 people are not accounted for.

Part of the problem in making an accurate accounting is the storms which hit Wednesday and Thursday knocked out electrical and telephone systems across wide areas of Western Europe.

The New York Times is reporting that the flooding is extensive, it may not have happened before as recently as 500 or 1000 years ago.

Wildfire rampages across NorCal

THE TAMARACK FIRE in northern California (U.S. Forest Service).

Evacuations, road closings and event cancellations have been prompted by a wildfire raging across an area of northern California, south of Lake Tahoe.

USA Today reports that The Tamarack Fire has grown from 500 acres on Friday to over 6,600 acres by Saturday. The National Forest Service said the fire is still active and is expected to continue to spread. Three buildings have been consumed by flames.

Dry and windy conditions are blamed for the blaze, the largest wildfire in the United States at this time.

Justice Department to appeal DACA ruling

The federal Department of Justice will appeal a ruling earlier this week by a federal judge in Texas that declared the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program illegal.

President Joe Biden on Saturday called the ruling “deeply disappointing,” according to United Press International. The decision does not end the program for “Dreamers,” but puts it in jeopardy.

DACA was created by executive order in 2012 by President Barack Obama to protect from deportation immigrants who were brought illegally into the United States as children by their parents.