After up to 3,500 helpers from the DRK were deployed in the first few weeks after the devastating floods in mid-July, today there are still almost 50 helpers. These will remain on site until further notice.
Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler / Berlin – After the flood disaster in the Ahr valley around three months ago, helpers from the German Red Cross (DRK) will be on duty for a long time.
“That will continue beyond the coming winter,” said DRK President Gerda Hasselfeldt of the German Press Agency. “We didn’t set a time window because we say: as long as people need help, we’ll be there. We assume that the reconstruction of the destroyed houses and infrastructure will take years. “
The Red Cross has set up replacement electricity generators in many places. “There are still 20,000 people without a phone or internet,” she said. In addition, around 1000 construction dryers were made available. In addition, more fan heaters should be issued for the winter. Of the 70 drinking water distribution points, 18 are still active. And there are still a number of operated laundromats. The Red Cross is therefore also involved in the construction of sewage treatment plants.
In the first weeks after the disaster in mid-July, according to Hasselfeldt, up to 3,500 volunteer and full-time helpers of the DRK were on duty in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. Today there are still almost 50 helpers from Germany plus numerous forces from the district and state association who provide support in the Ahr valley.
Hasselfeldt said the relief operation on the Ahr was one of the largest in the DRK after a storm in Germany. It is important to prepare better nationwide for future disasters – also in the form of pandemics or cyber attacks.
In the Ahr valley, 133 people were killed and thousands of houses destroyed or damaged during floods after heavy rain on July 14th and 15th. dpa
