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Destroyed houses in Mayschoss: It could rain again at the weekend
Photo: FRIEDEMANN VOGEL / EPA
After the flood disaster, the clean-up and rescue measures are in progress, but more water could soon come from the sky with new showers and thunderstorms in the affected West German areas.
There could be heavy rain again, said a meteorologist from the German Weather Service (DWD) on Thursday - where exactly, however, cannot be precisely predicted at the moment.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected at the weekend in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, according to the DWD. After a few days of sunshine, showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain threaten again on the weekend in North Rhine-Westphalia. "It can theoretically and selectively go into the storm area," said the DWD.
The clouds in Rhineland-Palatinate will come on Saturday, according to the meteorologist.
At noon there was initially shower-like rain in the west, and in the afternoon the whole area was affected.
Local thunderstorms can also form on Sunday during the day.
On Friday the sun was still shining in NRW, especially in the southwest.
According to the DWD, clouds will come in from the southwest on Saturday.
At first it rained in the Eifel, in the course of the afternoon the precipitation spread.
Thunderstorms should be expected on both days, according to the meteorologist.
At least 175 dead, many people are still missing
On Thursday, the DWD spoke of the catastrophe as an "event of the century". In a climatological classification, it was said that previous records had been far exceeded at an unusually large number of stations in the west. Within a few hours or days, an average of 1.5 to twice the average precipitation in July was reached over entire river catchment areas in relation to the reference period 1991 to 2020. There is no reason to give the all-clear. According to the information, the most and most intense heavy precipitation in Germany usually occurs between May and September. "So it can be assumed that there will be more events in 2021," said the DWD.
After the flood disaster last weekend, the number of victims continues to rise.
At least 175 people were killed according to the current status - in Rhineland-Palatinate according to previous knowledge 128, in North Rhine-Westphalia 47. More than 150 people are still missing.
Parts of the Ahrweiler region still have neither water nor electricity.
After the flash flood on the Ahr in Rhineland-Palatinate, emergency services have rescued around 330 people there with a total of 36 helicopters from roofs and trees, said the Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz (SPD) in Mainz.
He expressed concern that the rain announced for the weekend could make the situation even more difficult.
Traumatized people in the flood area
Many people in the flood areas of the Ahr are traumatized.
The German Red Cross (DRK) is on the road with crisis intervention forces to provide psychological help, said DRK President Gerda Hasselfeldt during a visit to the badly affected Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler.
Not only directly affected residents of the flood areas are affected, but also helpers.
The doctor Peter Maas, who has taken over services in a mobile doctor's practice in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, said that many patients come into the container with injuries or with the request for prescriptions.
"What strikes us is that the external injuries are often very minor," said the doctor.
But when patients are in a situation where someone is taking care of them for the first time, strong emotions arise.
"We deal with that too," says Maas.
According to Interior Minister Lewentz, 3500 civil protection forces, 1050 police officers and 853 soldiers are currently deployed in the Ahrweiler district.
The rescue and evacuation measures were still ongoing.
The damage is immense.
According to Lewentz, 62 bridges were destroyed, 19 day-care centers and 14 of 60 schools were severely damaged or destroyed in the district.
In the North Rhine-Westphalian disaster area Erftstadt-Blessem in North Rhine-Westphalia, some residents are expected to be allowed to return to their homes permanently from Thursday.
The prerequisite is that the stability of the building is guaranteed, said District Administrator Frank Rock.
NRW decides on emergency aid
The state cabinet in Düsseldorf decided on emergency aid for private citizens, businesses, farmers and municipalities in the amount of 200 million euros.
The federal government has promised to double the sums of the state aid packages, said NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU).
Applications could be made immediately.
For affected citizens there is a basic amount of 1500 euros per household, said Laschet.
500 euros would be available for each additional person.
A maximum of 3500 euros per household would be paid out.
There will be no means, asset and detailed tests.
"The point is that people get the money quickly," he said.
Merkel: "Will need patience"
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) prepared the population for a joint effort to cope with the storm disaster.
Merkel said in Berlin: "We will need patience to repair all this damage." The aim is to jointly finance the flood damage, said the Chancellor.
The federal government has made an amount of 200 million euros available for emergency aid.
Over the next few days and weeks, the Prime Ministers of the federal states will be talking about how a joint development fund will be organized.
ptz / dpa