Attempt at mitigating the spread, michael. yeah, an experiment for sure. phil black there in essex, thanks so much, phil. now some good news for those lucky enough to be in paris at the moment. the eiffel tower has reopened for the first time in almost nine months. it had been shut down because of covid restrictions of course but also renovations. this was the lengthiest period it s been closed since world war ii. but it s not entirely back to normal yet. visitors will have to prove that they re vaccinated or show a negative covid test starting next week. i m michael holmes. for our international viewers, african voices: change makers is up next. if you re here in north mesh, i america, i ll be back with more cnn newsroom in just a moment. wet dishes?
Allowing for flooded areas to expand. just within the past 12 hours, there has been a 100 centimeter rise in the rhine river at cologne. that is going to be the case as we go forward in time as these rivers continue to flow into the north sea. plenty of hazards there going forward, michael. absolutely. not over yet. derek van dam with the latest. now, the western united states being hit by some pretty dramatic weather as well. in the southwest, monsoon rains brought extreme flash flooding this week, and more might occur this weekend. experts say the recent historic drought just makes matters worse, making the ground more like pavement than a sponge. and in oregon, the largest wildfire the country has seen this year, the bootleg fire has scorched more than 241,000 acres since it started ten days ago. and it is only 7% contained. officials say communities in the area had to evacuate and crews were forced to pull back from
Workers from across europe and 20 boats from across europe that are helping in this effort. it s very intense right now. at the same time, people are cut off from electricity and gas and water. 20,000 people just in one province are without power. we re told it s going to take days to bring all that back. michael. a lot of work to do. chris burns in belgium, appreciate it. thanks so much. i want to bring in cnn meteorologist derek van dam. let s talk about the conditions. are they improving for these hard-hit areas or is more rain expected? michael, you saw in that shot with chris just a moment ago, the water levels there, the rivers, the tributaries behind it. they are still flowing rapidly. they are starting to drain themselves into some of the larger rivers like the rhine for instance. the good news is the heaviest of rain is shifting south from the hardest-hit areas in belgium as well as the netherlands and western germany. this is the satellite loop.
Variant, michael. exactly. manisha, thanks there in singapore. in just a few days, england is set to fully reopen. that means no more mask requirements in shops and host public places and bars and restaurants will be able to pack in more customers. there could be a wrench in the plan. on friday, the uk reported more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time in six months. phil black joins me now live from essex in england. phil, what s this reopening going to look like, and is there any suggestion the new case numbers might complicate matters? reporter: michael, the uk government is determined to proceed with this. we are now seeing daily reported case numbers which haven t been seen here since the dark days of the winter peak back in january, as you say. but the remarkable thing is, is that the expectation is that this is going to get higher still. the government has warned that
Telling cnn he ll continue to follow the data in the coming weeks, but again, no plans to change course at the moment. in new york, erica hill, cnn. the delta coronavirus variant, of course, is ripping through the world, especially in southeast asia. cases in the region have jumped 41% this past week, and the vaccination rate is just 9%. singapore seeing clusters of new infections linked to karaoke bars. authorities are delaying reopening plans and starting monday, they will tighten social distancing restrictions again. journalist manisha tank joins me now live from singapore. i mean the numbers are scary. cases up 41% in the region. caseload in the region has surpassed latin america and india. what is the state of things? well, michael, i can only describe it as a patchwork of experience. let me start with where i am in singapore. so, yes, as you were saying, we ve seen a sudden surge in