Merkel on the places of the tragedy, 'ghostly images'

"The German language knows no words to express the devastation that exists here", says Angela Merkel, after having tackled, at times hand in hand with the president of the Land Malu Dreyer, the places of the catastrophe. The Chancellor does not hide that she is shaken by the "surreal, ghostly" landscape marked by the flood and then admits: "We need a policy that deals more with the climate than has been done in recent years". Four days after the beginning of the heavy rains that have brought dozens of municipalities to their knees in the Laender of Rhineland-Platinum and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is mourning 157 lost lives, and many missing people are still being sought. In Europe the dead are at least 188, adding the 31 victims of Belgium. Since yesterday, however, the enormous masses ofwater caused by the overflow of small rivers is also putting a strain on other regions: Upper Bavaria, Saxony, and the Austrian Tyrol. With severe damage, in other cities stormed by water, such as the case of Hallein, just outside Salzburg. In Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, 150 people were forced to leave their homes after the flooding of the Ache River. For fear of new collapses. And there is no shortage of the first controversies on the responsibilities of governments, which would not have taken into account the alert on high water: the hydrologist Hannah Cloke denounces it, from the pages of the Times, who speaks of a "huge system failure" , claiming that the governments of Germany and Belgium had learned on July 10 of the high water, and of the critical points it would touch,thanks to the Efas warning system. Meanwhile, the German locomotive intends to face the gravity of the moment with all its strength: "We are in a position to react financially closely. Germany is a strong state thanks to God", underlined the Bundeskanzlerin that already on Wednesday, in the council of cabinet, will discuss the allocation of immediate aid, and will prepare a plan for the reconstruction of the Laender affected by the emergency. "We are at your side, as a state and as a region". And the institutions will work "hand in hand", he spelled out, after having physically represented this gesture, supporting the Social Democratic president of Mainz by the hand, who visited with her the places of devastation, despite suffering from ALS. Merkel also immediately made a commitment: "We have seen how violently nature can act ", he said." We will oppose this violence in the short, medium and long term ", is the promise that must also be traced back to the electoral context. This flood of historical significance occurs in two months from the elections that will mark the beginning of a new era in Germany, and the conservatives of the CDU and the CSU have the Greens as their main opponents in the race, driven by the environmental emergency in recent years, even if currently in difficulty. Merkel visited the town of Schuld, nel'Ahrweiler, epicenter of the disaster with 110 victims and 670 injured. In North Rhine-Westphalia the most up-to-date bulletin reported 46 dead, including 4 firefighters. A tragedy caused by the fact that, within 24 hours , masses ofwater of the flow rate that is typically reached within one to two months, according to expert analysis. However, the weather conditions in the west have improved, allowing for a lowering of the water level. However, the alert remains at the Steinbach dam, which has been under observation for days, for fear that it might give way. The alarm has not yet cleared, as the lowering of the water has slowed. "It will take a long time before you can recognize your country," said Malu Dreyer. From the pages of Bild am Sonntag, it was the finance minister Olaf Scholz who concretized the extent of the aid: "In the last flood, over 300 million euros were needed. On this occasion, the same amount will certainly be needed", he explained. And to repair bridges,streets and houses destroyed, he concluded, experience shows that the cost will be "billions".