Exactly one year ago, the flooding killed at least 134 people in the Ahr region. The reconstruction drags on for years. Despite all the criticism: one thing is unanimously praised.
Altenahr/Euskirchen – On the first anniversary of the Ahr flood, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier commemorates the at least 134 fatalities in the river valley. During a visit, he described the fate of Wilfried Laufer’s father, who runs a wine bar in Altenahr, as “an experience that made a deep impression”. The 83-year-old father drowned in the flood – and was only found days later. Steinmeier took a lot of time on Thursday on the terrace of the recently rebuilt wine bar in the presence of the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer (SPD), to talk to those affected, helpers and local politicians.
It quickly becomes clear under umbrellas in harmless midsummer weather: The reconstruction in the Ahr Valley with around 9000 devastated houses and numerous destroyed traffic routes is still a long time coming. The head of state in a dark suit, white shirt and black tie is talking about the “next few years” alongside the still uninhabited and damaged houses with dark window sockets without panes. Andre Bender from the staff of the red wine region, which was once so touristic, says: “Roughly estimated, we still have a endurance run of five to ten years.”
Many reasons for delays in rebuilding
Sluggish payments from the reconstruction fund with complex application forms, disputes with insurance companies, fully booked appraisers and craftsmen, a lack of building materials, inflation and rising interest rates – there are many reasons for delays. The non-party district administrator for the Ahrweiler district, Cornelia Weigand, says that many residents initially thought, given the initial promises of quick and unbureaucratic help, that the construction would go faster. Now the delays were getting on my nerves. “That polarizes,” warns Weigand. Society in the Ahr Valley must not “break apart”.
The mayor of the winegrowing village of Dernau, which was also partially destroyed, Alfred Sebastian, has the impression “that the mood is slowly changing”. Reconstruction is also a question of age: young residents tend to look ahead and start building again, older citizens hesitate. Sebastian also addresses the contamination of many houses with heating oil in the flood: Just last week in Dernau, a couple in their mid-80s found out that their house could only be demolished after unsuccessful rescue attempts.
On Thursday afternoon, Steinmeier then traveled to Euskirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia and took part in a memorial service there. In a speech he then called for the consequences of the flood of the century: “We must make every effort, absolutely every effort, to combat the consequences of climate change, and we must take much more comprehensive precautions in order to leave our children and grandchildren a planet worth living on .”
Resident describes experiences
During the service, the dead are commemorated with the ringing of bells. A resident of Bad Münstereifel describes how she and her husband desperately put up barriers in front of their house, only to find that the water was rising faster. “Suddenly I saw our cars swimming by outside. That’s when I knew: We were in mortal danger.” Her house was flooded in a matter of seconds. “I’ll never forget the bursting sounds of the water destroying everything.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also took part in the central commemoration event of the Ahr Valley in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in the evening – without a speech. Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) has the same message for those present as her North Rhine-Westphalian counterpart Hendrik Wüst (CDU), who is speaking in Euskirchen at the same time: the victims will not be forgotten. And the families are not alone.
At the memorial service in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, the first names of the victims are projected onto a large screen one after the other. Each time, against a night sky, a new bright star appears in the center and joins its peers further back. During a minute’s silence, Dreyer, Weigand and the mayor of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Guido Orthen (CDU), hold hands – this is intended to symbolize the beginning of human chains that are planned this Friday as a sign of cohesion throughout the Ahr Valley. dpa
