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THW mission in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler (July 19)
Photo: MAX MOELKNER;
HANDOUT / AFP
The president of the Federal Association of Technical Relief (THW) accuses the politically responsible in the flood areas of being responsible for a significantly higher number of deaths through misconduct.
"The force of the flood could not be prevented and not all of the casualties," said Marian Wendt of the "Bild" newspaper.
"But the fact is: if those politically responsible on site had acted correctly, significantly more people could have got themselves to safety."
"According to everything we know from the Ahrweiler district, there were no timely warnings that could and should have been given," said Wendt.
There were warnings from the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) and the weather service as well as from mayors.
Wendt, who is also a member of the CDU Bundestag, demanded "a different, more central system" for warning.
At the moment, the entire responsibility lies with political election officials such as the district administrators.
"In all major police situations or in the military, this is managed and decided by professionals such as police presidents or generals, only not in the event of a disaster," said Wendt.
That has to change.
Extreme heavy rain had triggered devastating floods on rivers in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate three weeks ago.
Many communities, especially in the Rhineland-Palatinate Ahr valley, were devastated.
Roads and bridges were also destroyed.
141 people died in Rhineland-Palatinate, 17 more are missing.
There were 47 deaths in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Lindner wants special representatives for the flood areas
Meanwhile, FDP chairman Christian Lindner reacted with incomprehension to the refusal of Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) to appoint a special representative for the flood areas.
The FDP parliamentary group was convinced that this would be "a real help," said Lindner of the dpa news agency.
The Prime Minister's Conference should therefore agree in the coming week to create this office.
Scholz had said on Wednesday in the WDR to the call for a special representative: "That would increase bureaucratic activity and would make things more complicated."
Lindner now said, however, that a special representative could take on a coordinating role at the interfaces between the federal, state and local governments and thus ensure that processes run smoothly.
“We saw with disaster control that there is a problem there.” In addition, such a coordinator could also be the head of funding management and thus be responsible for the financial side of the reconstruction.
wit / dpa / AFP
