9/26/2023 0 Comments Germany flood relief fundFor example, there are plans to bundle supply lines for water, wastewater, electricity, internet and telecommunications that could be included in one channel that is flood-proofed. Seeing destruction as an opportunity: Planners are set to think outside the box. In doing so, they will also look beyond Germany and take into account how, for example, the Netherlands and parts of Austria deal with the risk of flooding. Six working groups have been set up for the coming weeks and months that will deal with the topics of flood protection and construction, infrastructure, economy, tourism and viticulture, but also health, work and social issues. The region needs visionary ideas because the Ahr Valley is to become a model region to show how people can live with the consequences of climate change in the future. But how can this be implemented in the narrow valley through which the Ahr flows? Could drains perhaps be cut into the mountains and hills, or canals and channels built between the houses? Dernau is one of the towns on the Ahr where houses may have been too close to the river Image: Christoph Hardt/Future Image/imago images Learning from abroadĪ recurring theme in the over 200 suggestions that have been put forward by citizens and experts was that water must be given more space in planning for the future. The federal parliament, the Bundestag has launched a flood relief fund worth €30 billion for the affected states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as Bavaria in the south and Saxony in the southeast of the country. She stressed that there would be sufficient financial assistance. "Many things will not be able to be rebuilt one-to-one," cautioned Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU), who attended the conference as a representative of the federal government. Together, he says, it is necessary to find out what will be possible again at all in the Ahr Valley with a view to climate change and flood protection. "Now it is necessary to develop clever ideas and clear visions for the future together," says Gies. However, he says, this will take five to 10 years. "We are rebuilding the Ahr Valley," promises Horst Gies, the deputy district administrator of the Ahrweiler district, who belongs to the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU). Add to that the rubble and debris of the buildings. That is 30 times the amount of garbage that normally accumulates in the Ahr Valley in one year. Six houses on this road in Altenburg had to be demolished already Image: Sabine Kinkartz/DWĪt the first of several planned "Future Conferences" on the reconstruction of the Ahr Valley, Steingass gave further figures that clearly show the dimension of the catastrophe: The flood left behind 240,000 metric tons (265,000 US tons) of destroyed household goods. Nicole Steingass, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate's commissioner for reconstruction, put the financial damage in this state alone at around €18 billion ($2.1 billion). Private homes, businesses, stores, schools, kindergartens and hospitals were destroyed. More than 500 buildings were swept away by the water, and another 3,000 were damaged, some severely. Around 40,000 people - a third of the inhabitants -were directly affected by the floods. In the Ahr Valley, 134 people lost their lives. Only 35 of the 112 bridges in the flood zone withstood the floodwaters. Roads have been torn up and washed out, railroad tracks, water and power lines have been destroyed, and telecommunications have broken down. Almost the entire infrastructure has been affected. The Ahr Valley has been destroyed along a length of 40 kilometers (25 miles). Heavy trucks drive away debris, making their way over roads provisionally patched with gravel excavators and tractors clear away debris, whirling up dust and pebbles that fly through the air.Īlmost eight weeks after the flood disaster, the cleanup work has progressed to the point where the full extent of the damage is revealed. You can see it from the vineyards on the slopes when you look down at the towns of Ahrweiler, Dernau, Altenahr. A huge cloud of dust lies over the Ahr Valley.
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