Read the video transcript here
In the beginning everything did not go smoothly - but now the relief effort is running at full speed in the areas of western Germany hit by the flood disaster.
It is also urgently needed.
In addition to the official organizations such as the German Red Cross, Technical Relief Organization, and the Bundeswehr, many private initiatives have now formed.
Inge (no surname), kindergarten teacher
»We are two women, 66, require insulin and I, aged 64 and 50 percent severely disabled with knees and backs.
We are stunned by the wave of help we are receiving.
I could cry and keep saying, 'Thank you very much, thank you very much'.
And we are so dependent on help, because starting all over again at that age is an uncanny burden.
But we will do it.
When we feel and see so much sympathy, only our hearts open. "
Many volunteers are exhausted themselves after days of tireless work.
Fortunately, supplies keep coming.
In this case from a distance of 150 kilometers.
Luca Gerecht, scaffolding worker
»We've been here since around 10 o'clock.
Started at 6 a.m. from the square in Wesel.
We help people shovel out basements, remove mud, clear away rubbish.
Simply what has to be done. "
And a lot has to be done.
That is why Luca Gerecht set off with all of his colleagues from his scaffolding company.
Luca Gerecht, volunteer helper
»The employees took two days of vacation, we told the whole company, let's go here and help. Boss organized the trip. Bringing groceries, wheelbarrows, shovels, all sorts of things. With seven trucks, eight trucks here. "
He could have used helping hands in the past week. Ferdinand Pfahl works as an undertaker in Bonn - and had to fetch 35 flood victims from crisis areas in Bad Münstereifel and the Euskirchen district since Thursday a week ago.
Ferdinand Pfahl, Undertaker
»I've seen a lot of dead in my whole life, but such a catastrophe with so many dead, you have to deal with that yourself first. Most of the time they have already been pulled out of the water somewhere. The fire brigade did some of the preparatory work, or you had someone lying down somewhere. What hit me the most was a 19-year-old who has worked for me in the test center for over half a year, a very pretty girl who then asks: ›Yes, what's that supposed to mean?‹ She was standing on the bridge in Rheinbach, we have a very small stream that has been flooded, and it was just standing on the bridge at the moment when the bridge collapsed. ... There's nothing to say about that. "
Clearing, clearing, clearing - there is - yet - no time for real processing of the experiences.
Neither with the helpers nor with those affected.
Luca Gerecht, volunteer helper
»Yes, so far ... I can handle it quite well.
People are happy when you help, are actually very happy, depending on the circumstances, because they see, people help, who want to help, want to do something. "
The Ahrweiler district has provided phone numbers on its website for offers of help, for "advice and support" as well as for emergency aid and psychosocial counseling.