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Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer
Photo: Markus Schreiber / dpa
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has pledged solidarity to those affected by the flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate.
"The message that I would like to say first is that we will not forget this flood - even if a few days have passed," said Merkel on Friday during her second visit to the Ahr valley at a press conference.
It will take many months and years to repair the damage. At the same time, a lot has been achieved in the past seven weeks. "This visit is of course also a sign of the firm will that we in the federal government work together with the affected states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia and want to do what we can do at all," said Merkel.
Previously, Merkel and the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) had a tour of the Altenburg district of Altenburg to get an idea of the current situation.
They were accompanied by the Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz (SPD), Climate Protection Minister Anne Spiegel (Greens) and Economics Minister Daniela Schmitt (FDP).
"It was very impressive for me what we saw there," said Merkel.
The extensive destruction of the houses makes it clear with what force the Ahr worked.
In the opinion of the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD), a visit to the disaster area means "consolation and encouragement" for the people there.
The tour on Friday is a signal that the population will not be forgotten.
Despite all the destruction, impressive progress can be seen in the clean-up work, said Dreyer.
She announced another "future conference" for this month, which will discuss details of the reconstruction.
Merkel and Dreyer were together in the Ahr Valley on July 18, a few days after the disaster.
Extreme heavy rain had triggered devastating floods on rivers in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Many communities, especially in the Ahr Valley, were devastated.
A total of about 180 people died.
mfh / AFP / dpa