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In Hagen in North Rhine-Westphalia, the destroyed treatment chair in a practice is on the street
Photo: David Inderlied / dpa
This article is continuously updated.
Activist Neubauer: Federal government does not take climate impacts seriously
5.01 a.m.:
The climate activist Luisa Neubauer accuses the federal government of playing down the consequences of climate change for a long time.
"So far, the federal government has basically behaved for decades as if the climate crisis couldn't really harm us," said Neubauer.
This is "not just ignorant", it also destroys livelihoods, explained the prominent Fridays for Future activist.
The flood catastrophe and its consequences that Germany is currently experiencing is "not just a major disaster," said Neubauer.
It is "also a consequence of the political refusal to take scientific warnings seriously."
Federal government wants to
decide on
emergency aid for
flood
victims
4.50 a.m.: One week after the flood disaster began, the federal government wants to launch emergency aid worth millions on this Wednesday. This is intended to eliminate the worst damage to buildings and communal infrastructure and to bridge special emergencies. In total, it is about 400 million euros, half of which is to be borne by the federal and state governments. A construction fund worth billions is also planned. A decision about the amount should only be made when the extent of the damage can be foreseen more precisely.
The disaster, which now has more than 170 fatalities, is a topic in the federal cabinet for the first time on Wednesday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) have already promised the flood victims unbureaucratic help.
"I hope that it will be a matter of days," said Merkel on Tuesday during a visit to the badly damaged Bad Münstereifel.
Finance Minister Scholz promised in the "Rheinische Post": "The federal government will do everything to support all those affected quickly and as unbureaucratically as possible."
THW vice-president hardly expects any survivors of the flood disaster
0.12 a.m.:
The Vice President of the Technical Relief Organization (THW), Sabine Lackner, sees little chance of finding survivors after the floods in western Germany.
"We are currently still looking for missing people, for example when clearing the paths or pumping out the cellars," Lackner told the editorial network in Germany.
"Unfortunately, at this point in time it is very likely that you can only rescue victims, not save them."
The THW vice-president warned against the quick assignment of blame, according to which a better warning system could have prevented deaths.
“Of course we will have to work through the processes.
But I find this debate unfortunate three to four days after the disaster, ”said Lackner.
Many people are still standing in front of the ruins of their livelihoods, and many support measures are still in progress.
The majority of Germans see deficiencies in flood preparation
0.02 a.m
.: According to a survey, 67 percent of Germans believe that politics at the federal and / or state level should have done more to protect cities and municipalities from flooding.
Only 13 percent are of the opinion that politics shouldn't have done more.
This was the result of a representative survey by the INSA Institute for the »Bild« newspaper.
lmd / AFP / dpa / Reuters