“There are dead, there are missing, there are many who are still in danger”: Malu Dreyer’s descriptions sound unimaginable. Floods and continuous rain have destroyed several places in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Ahrweiler / Eifel – The masses of water literally eat their way through the towns. There are incredible pictures and scenes that take place on Thursday morning in the Eifel.
What most people in Germany only knew from far away is suddenly very close: at least four people die after floods and continuous rain in the Ahrweiler district. Almost 70 people are missing in the Eifel town of Schuld, six houses have collapsed, many are unstable. In distress, people flee to the roofs of their houses and wait for rescue.
Dreyer in the state parliament: “It is really devastating”
When the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer took the floor at the beginning of the plenary session in Mainz, it became clear which disaster has just occurred. “There are dead, there are missing, there are many who are still in danger,” said Dreyer at the beginning of the plenary session in Mainz. “It’s really devastating.” Whole places are flooded, houses have simply swam away. Police helicopters are on the way to rescue people from rooftops. The Bundeswehr is also helping with around 200 soldiers. There are a lot of missing people, says Dreyer. It is unclear whether they could have saved themselves. Reaching them is difficult because the cellular network has partially failed.
Small place blame particularly affected
The small town of Schuld in Rhineland-Palatinate was hit particularly hard. The village with around 700 inhabitants – near the state border with North Rhine-Westphalia – lies in a loop on the Ahr, which is usually a small river. Now the Ahr has turned into a raging body of water.
Only a few details are initially known. The floods tore away several houses. A dramatic rescue operation is in progress because dozens of people have escaped to safety on the roofs of houses – this can be guessed from the little information that the police have received. Many other houses are considered to be in danger of collapsing.
Brown masses of mud
In the Erdorf district of Bitburg, too, the force of the water can be seen, brown mud literally tumbling through the streets. On aerial photos of Schuld you can see how parts of the place almost sink into the floods with rubble and mud.
The municipality of Kordel in the Trier-Saarburg district with around 2000 inhabitants cannot be reached on Thursday, the flood cut off all access routes. One is now trying to reach the residents with the help of the Bundeswehr with watercraft, says a district spokesman. There are similar rescue operations on the Sauer River, a few kilometers away. dpa
