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Uwe Wagner, volunteer helper
"
They said right away, okay, immediate help will come and it won't be bureaucratic.
But when they stood in the basement and then dragged the mud and got everything that way and that hasn't happened until today.
That is depressing.
It's really depressing
."
Exactly one year ago, on the night of July 14-15, 2021, a century of rain fell in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, causing flooding that killed 184 people.
In some places, the water level rose to up to ten meters.
Thousands of people became homeless.
Two people are still missing.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal President
»
During previous visits here in the Ahr Valley, I said: 'We will not forget you'.
That's one of the reasons why I'm here again today, on the anniversary of the horror of the flood, to signal: We haven't forgotten the people in the Ahr Valley, and we know how many are still struggling to rebuild their apartments and houses
."
On the anniversary on Thursday, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited the Ahr Valley together with the Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, and promised people continued support.
But many are disappointed by politics.
The waiting times for craftsmen are still long and applying for help is complicated.
Waldemar Kielar, volunteer helper
»
Many houses are still broken, damaged, uninhabitable.
That's sad
."
Ulrich Patelschick, resident
»
The helpers who helped, great respect, really great respect, but from the rest. No
.«
The federal government wants to be better prepared for future crises and better structure civil protection, warn earlier and sensitize the population.
It is not impossible that such a catastrophe will happen again.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal President
»
Above all, we need to know that there is a connection with climate change, that it is not a question of the future, but that climate change has reached us
.«
