The deluge swept away homes and businesses in different German towns, causing billions of dollars in damages.
Half of the relief amount will come from the federal government of Europe's top economy and the rest from the 16 regional states, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said.He said the coming months would bring a "billions-strong reconstruction programme to clear the devastation and restore infrastructure" including roads, bridges and railways.
Merkel had vowed on a visit to the badly hit medieval town of Bad Muenstereifel on Tuesday that Berlin would come through to help in the short and long term."This was flooding that surpassed our imagination when you see the destruction it wrought," the chancellor told reporters after touring what thedaily called the "apocalyptic " wreckage of the 17,000-strong community in North Rhine-Westphalia state.