In the disaster region of Ahrweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate alone, more than 110 people have lost their lives. The chancellor is expected there on Sunday – the finance minister promises billions.
Rosenheim / Mainz – Storms had left a swath of devastation in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate – more than 150 people died from the floods.
The focus of the disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate is in the Ahrweiler district. According to the latest information from the Koblenz police, over 110 people were killed there alone. 670 people were injured. It is feared that more people will be killed and injured.
“If you see the pictures, how it looks there, you can not rule out that more bodies will be found,” a spokesman had said. People were still missing. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the number of confirmed fatalities on Saturday evening was 45, including four firefighters.
On Sunday, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) wants to visit the hardest hit areas in the Eifel. Merkel will get an idea of the situation in the community of Schuld, which was hit particularly hard by the storm disaster, said the state chancellery in Mainz. A press statement is then planned in Adenau – together with Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) and other Rhineland-Palatinate ministers.
Scholz: “It’s about billions of euros”
Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has meanwhile promised emergency aid in the hundreds of millions for those affected by the flood disaster in the west. “It takes a national show of strength,” said the SPD politician of “Bild am Sonntag”. He wanted to put two things on the table in the cabinet on Wednesday. “Firstly, an immediate aid, with the last flood significantly more than 300 million euros were necessary. So much will be needed now, ”explained Scholz.
“Second, we have to lay the foundations for a reconstruction program so that the destroyed houses, roads and bridges can be repaired quickly. As we know from the previous catastrophe, it is billions of euros. “
NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU), who visited the disaster area in Erftstadt with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Saturday, promised direct aid for the people affected and said that “money would be paid out very unbureaucratically”.
Steinmeier had called for solidarity and donations for the victims. “The willingness to support has to continue, both large and small,” he said. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has announced that he will be in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate for Monday.
New storms hit Bavaria and Saxony
While the devastating water masses from many flood areas in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate are gradually retreating, storms hit southern and eastern Germany late on Saturday evening. The district of Berchtesgadener Land in Upper Bavaria declared a disaster because of the immense rainfall. Huge amounts of rain also fell in Saxon Switzerland.
“The situation is tense, but manageable,” said the situation center of the Ministry of the Interior in Dresden at the request of the German Press Agency. dpa
