After the floods in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, more and more dead are found. The high number of missing persons is a matter of even greater concern. The rescue work is in full swing.
Koblenz / Düsseldorf – The number of victims continues to rise in the flood disaster in western Germany. As of Friday noon, 103 deaths were counted as a result of the floods. At least 60 people were killed in Rhineland-Palatinate and 43 in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Military disaster alert
The Ministry of Defense triggered a military disaster alert because of the emergency. This means that decisions can be made more quickly by those responsible on the spot, explained a ministry spokesman. There are already more than 850 soldiers in action.
Rescue and clean-up work continued in the disaster areas. At the same time, there were signs of some relaxation in some places with falling water levels. The state governments of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, among others, advised on help for the people and companies affected. The federal government wants to decide on construction aid for citizens and municipalities in the coming week, as a spokesman for the finance ministry said.
Location confusing in many places
In Erftstadt-Blessem southwest of Cologne there were landslides of enormous proportions on Friday, huge holes in the ground formed. Houses were washed away and collapsed. “There are fatalities,” said a spokeswoman for the Cologne district government. The situation is still confusing.
According to police reports, just under 100 people are missing in Rhineland-Palatinate, Interior Minister Roger Lewentz said on Deutschlandfunk in the morning. Hours of heavy rain had led to devastating floods in several regions. The governments of the two federal states concerned met for special meetings.
According to the Federal Office for Population and Disaster Control (BBK) in Bonn, 23 cities and districts are affected by floods in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Ministry of the Interior there spoke of 43 dead. The fire brigade rescued three seriously injured people from the Wurm river in the Heinsberg district on Thursday evening, who were threatened with drowning.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, the Ahrweiler district is the focus of the disaster. In the village of Schuld an der Ahr alone, with 700 inhabitants, several houses were swept away by the masses of water, and numerous other buildings, some severely damaged. There was also considerable damage in other regions of the Eifel as well as in the Trier-Saarburg district.
Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) said that federal aid was needed to rebuild the affected areas. “It is very clear that this disaster cannot be tackled by the state alone, and certainly not by the municipalities,” she emphasized in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”.
At the rivers and lakes in Baden-Württemberg, the experts expected rising water levels on Friday. In some regions roads were again closed, in the Allgäu a residential area was under water. The German Weather Service warned of heavy rain and thunderstorms, for example in Upper Swabia. The water level can rise quickly, especially in smaller bodies of water.
The State Office for the Environment of Rhineland-Palatinate reported in its early warning system by Saturday morning a low flood risk for almost the entire state. In the region around Altenahr and in parts of the Eifel, isolated floods are still possible, it said.
Falling water levels are expected in North Rhine-Westphalia, but this will sometimes only happen slowly. The water levels were often still above the warning thresholds, for example at Erft, Ruhr, Rur, Sieg and Weser, announced the State Environment Agency.
According to the Waterways and Shipping Office (WSA) in Freiburg, the persistently strong flooding on the Upper Rhine will keep the ships off for several days. “According to the current situation, a release for shipping can only be expected from the beginning of next week,” said the authority on Friday. She looks after the waterway between Weil am Rhein on the border with Switzerland and the area between Mainz and Ginsheim (Hesse).
Massively restricted train traffic
Train traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate is still severely affected. Deutsche Bahn announced on Friday that numerous routes are completely closed or can only be used to a limited extent. “The water masses have severely damaged the tracks, points, signaling technology, train stations and signal boxes in many parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.” In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, tracks over a length of around 600 kilometers are affected. In long-distance traffic, among other things, the Cologne-Wuppertal-Hagen-Dortmund section is currently not passable.
Prime Minister Laschet said the day before in the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner” that ways must be found to get roads, bridges and other infrastructure going again very quickly. The country will help, but “a great national effort is also needed so that the worst things can be eliminated quickly”.
Neighboring countries also affected
Germany’s neighboring countries are also struggling with floods. In Switzerland, river levels rose sharply after heavy rainfall. According to the Keystone-sda news agency, swollen streams flooded the villages of Schleitheim and Beggingen in the canton of Schaffhausen. Masses of water flowed through streets, into cellars, carried away vehicles and destroyed smaller bridges.
In Belgium, people from some communities were brought to safety along the Meuse as a preventive measure, as reported by the Belga news agency. dpa
