Interior Ministry fears increasing risk of infection in the flood areas

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Mountains of rubbish: A man cleaning up in Weilerswist in North Rhine-Westphalia

Photo: Fabian Strauch / dpa

In the areas of the flood disaster in western Germany, people are increasingly exposed to health risks.

Because of decaying animal carcasses and corpses as well as rising temperatures, the risk of infection is increasing, according to SPIEGEL information in an internal status report by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) on Tuesday.

There is a risk of "epidemics and vermin infestation."

In addition, there is a lack of drugs and their distribution, blood supplies threatened to become scarce according to the DRK, it said in the paper.

Due to the large amounts of garbage generated during the clean-up work, the capacities of some garbage incineration plants were no longer sufficient.

Authorities had previously warned of the spread of corona in the disaster areas.

According to the BMI situation report, destroyed water and gas pipes led to supply problems.

"Their restoration could take several weeks, possibly several months," it said.

In addition, another risk is mentioned in the management report: In the area of ​​the railway line in the Rhineland-Palatinate Ahr valley, ordnance could have been flushed out.

At least 170 people died in the floods in the west of the country.

122 deaths from severe weather were confirmed from Rhineland-Palatinate and 48 from North Rhine-Westphalia.

People are still missing - 155 in the particularly affected district of Ahrweiler in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Around 40,000 people there are considered to have been affected by the consequences of the devastating floods and floods.

bbr / mgb / dpa