“A violent, painful death”: The reports at the memorial event for those affected by the flood disaster are moving. The act of state is characterized by deep compassion.
Nürburg – Several hundred people sit quietly in dark clothes in a dimly lit hall at the Nürburgring: Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) address the victims of the flood disaster with emotional words.
“We know that nothing in your life is what it was before,” said the head of state at the state act. “But you should know that your country will not leave you alone on your way back to life.” Dreyer also pledges solidarity with those affected. “I know that the greatest concern on the ground now is to be forgotten when the cameras turn back on other events.” But she tells those affected: “Nobody will be forgotten!”
Three people still missing
In Rhineland-Palatinate, 133 people died in the particularly affected Ahr valley in the flood after extremely heavy rain on July 14th and 15th – and one person in the area of the Trier police headquarters. Three people in the Ahr valley are still missing. Relatives of the dead and missing, injured and injured persons, auxiliary workers and mayors of the floodplains take part in the state ceremony. Two actors read out the first names and first letters of the last names of all 134 dead. The act of state is framed by music played by brass players. At the end the national anthem sounds.
The natural disaster hit Rhineland-Palatinate to the core, says Dreyer. “I can’t get the many fates out of my head.” Those affected should know that they are not alone. “The whole of Rhineland-Palatinate takes part in their suffering. And we are sadly connected to our neighboring state North Rhine-Westphalia, which also has many fatalities. All of Germany mourns with us. “
Steinmeier speaks of “enormous respect” that people would not have given up despite their desperation. “That you tackle it anyway, look ahead, however infinitely difficult it may often be. And I would like to thank you for that too, ”he emphasizes. For those affected, nothing is what it was. “Today I would like to express my condolences and condolences to you, the relatives and the bereaved. We, the whole country, mourn with you, ”emphasized the Federal President in front of the many listeners, including the Federal Minister for Agriculture Julia Klöckner (CDU) and the Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.
“Money must come to you”
Steinmeier calls for help quickly: “You urgently need financial support, and I welcome the extensive aid fund that the federal government has launched.” The federal states would have done the same. “The money must come to you as soon as possible, to those who urgently need this help.” The disaster concerns everyone. “We all have to ask ourselves what can we do to be better prepared for such disasters, for such extreme weather conditions.”
Dreyer assures that the state government will do everything to ensure that “the old homeland can also be the new homeland”. “We want to build an Ahr valley with a future together with those responsible for the local authority and everyone on site. One in which people can live happily and as safely as possible. ”It is likely that everything will not be the same as before. “Let us use the reconstruction to develop the valley in a sustainable and future-proof way!”
The mayor of the Altenahr community, Cornelia Weigand (non-party), takes up this thread: The climate-friendly reconstruction of the Ahr valley could “become a model for the many low mountain rivers in Europe,” she says. For this, strategies would have to be developed “how we can continue to live safely in river regions in the future under the influence of climate change”.
Ahr a “brutal monster”
Weigand reports that Altenahr is most affected by the flood “in the area”. Like thousands of other residents in the river valley, she has also lost her home. “The Ahr, formerly our humorous companion, has become a monster, a brutal monster with all its inflows,” adds the mayor. “Piled up to unimaginable heights of over ten meters, it has washed everything down, rolled over, destroyed everything. She tore many of us to our death – a violent, agonizing death. “
Again and again there are moving moments during the state act. For example, in a recorded video in which a man tearfully tells how he found his lost wedding ring in the mud. Wilfried Laufer from the Ahr valley reports how he looked in vain for his 83-year-old father after the flood night. His body was found three days later – 25 kilometers downstream.
The Nürburgring is a symbol of solidarity and help for those damaged by the flood: Here, the emergency services were initially coordinated and halls were filled with donations in kind. On Wednesday, however, the actual purpose of the legendary racetrack becomes apparent: Before the start of the state act, loud vehicles with strong horsepower race across the asphalt. dpa
