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Horst Seehofer: The Interior Minister wants to get an idea of the work of the THW on site this Monday
Photo: Florian Gaertner / photothek.de / imago images / photothek
The FDP has accused Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) of serious failures in civil protection in view of the consequences of the flood. "The timely warnings of the meteorologists have not been adequately communicated to the citizens either by the authorities or by public radio," said parliamentary group vice-president Michael Theurer of the dpa news agency. "The picture presents itself of a considerable system failure for which the Federal Minister of the Interior Seehofer bears direct personal responsibility."
The reform proposals of the FDP have been on the table for years, but nothing has happened. Endangering human life. "I demand that the home department in the Ministry of the Interior be closed immediately and that the vacant positions be used for civil protection in addition to digitization," said Theurer. First of all, the brochure “Advice on emergency preparedness and correct action in emergency situations” by the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance should be sent to all households. "The Ministry of the Interior must raise the funds for this."
Seehofer wants to get an idea of the work of the Technical Relief Organization (THW) on site this Monday.
It is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
According to the information, the organization has 2,500 helpers in the flood areas to bring people to safety, pump out basements, ensure the power supply and remove piles of rubble.
Seehofer is expected at the Steinbachtalsperre in Euskirchen in the late morning.
There had been a setback there because the water drained more slowly than expected.
This Monday morning, experts want to decide when people in the evacuated areas will be allowed to return to their homes.
The Euskirchen fire brigade denied rumors about the break of the dam on Sunday evening.
Around noon, Seehofer wants to go to Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler to visit a hospital.
THW has installed a drinking water treatment system there so that the hospital can continue to get the drinking water it needs.
This became necessary after the masses of water damaged the pipes in the vicinity of the clinic.
Lauterbach sees parallels to the corona crisis
The SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach also called for conclusions to be drawn from the experience of the flood disaster. "We are just as badly prepared for disaster control as we are for pandemic protection," Lauterbach told the Rheinische Post. »We now have to prepare and prepare for the fact that there will be more natural disasters in the future and regular pandemics as well. The infrastructure for this has to be created and expanded; disaster control is of central importance here. "
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier also called for clarification as to whether the disaster control had worked sufficiently. »As soon as we have provided immediate help, we must also look: Are there things that did not go well, are there things that went wrong? And then it has to be corrected, ”said the CDU politician on Sunday in the“ Bild live ”political talk“ The right questions ”. It is not about pointing the blame, but about improvements for the future.
The head of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Aid (BBK), Armin Schuster, defended disaster control against criticism.
"Our warning infrastructure worked in the federal government," said Schuster on Sunday evening in the ZDF's "heute journal".
"The German Weather Service issued a relatively good warning." The problem is that it is often not possible to say half an hour in advance which location will be hit with what amount of rain.
150 warning messages were sent via warning apps.
He cannot say at the moment where the people in the flood areas have been warned by sirens and where not.
Reul speaks out against central disaster control
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) said on the program that one would have to think about how to improve warning systems and how to reach those who did not have an app.
Even when it comes to coordinating disaster relief, there is “probably still a lot to be done”.
The minister, however, refused to centralize civil protection in Berlin.
The President of the German District Association, Reinhard Sager, spoke out against centralization.
"We should not take this extraordinary event as an opportunity to fundamentally question the system of disaster control or to demand a shift of operational powers from the districts and cities to the federal government," said Sager of the "Rheinische Post".
"At a certain point, man is simply powerless against the forces of nature that break in at such a lightning speed," he explained.
"We should be aware of that and accept it." However, Sager was in favor of improving the warning options via cell phone.
"The existing technical possibilities are currently not being used enough," he said.
asa / dpa / AFP