Wüst and Dreyer commemorate flood victims: "Stay by your side"

Created: 07/13/2022, 15:52

Hendrik Wüst (CDU), Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia.

© Marius Becker/dpa/archive image

One year after the flood of the century, sadness and dismay are still alive in NRW.

In addition to sympathizing with the suffering of the relatives, one question is in the foreground: how can NRW better arm itself against such catastrophes?

Bad Münstereifel/Euskirchen/Düsseldorf - North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) have thought of the victims of the flood of the century.

“184 people lost their lives.

Hundreds were injured.

Many have lost all their belongings," the two politicians summed up in a joint statement on social media on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the disaster.

"The flood disaster of July 14th and 15th, 2021 was a turning point in the history of our countries and the whole of Germany." The two heads of government assured everyone who was affected: "We will stay by your side and continue to put all our energy into the reconstruction." The many people who risked their own lives to save others deserve our deepest gratitude.

Numerous other politicians also commemorated the victims on Wednesday, visited the flood areas affected a year ago or presented proposals for more effective civil protection.

In Euskirchen near Bonn, the new NRW Environment Minister, Oliver Krischer, found out about the construction of a new Erft Bridge, which had been severely damaged.

It can be assumed that climate change will make events such as flood disasters more likely, said the Green politician.

Increasing heavy precipitation is predicted for NRW.

The state government wants to invest up to 80 million euros per year in the ecological development of watercourses.

The aim is, among other things, to give these waters more space to spread again.

During a visit to Bad Münstereifel, SPD regional leader Thomas Kutschaty was impressed by the commitment to reconstruction.

“The place is a continuous construction site.

It is all the more encouraging that many shops are coming back. ”Now two things counted: “Continue the reconstruction quickly and set up the best possible flood protection for the future,” said the opposition leader.

It is frightening that some of those affected are still waiting for development aid from the country.

NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) appealed to citizens to better arm themselves against disasters.

"It's not happening somewhere on TV far away, it can happen around the corner from you tomorrow," he said in a video distributed by the Interior Ministry on Twitter.

"So be prepared.

Know how sirens work.

Knowing what you have to do and preparing yourself a bit,” recommended Reul.

"Having a small supply doesn't hurt either."

State President André Kuper recalled "the worst natural disaster in the history" of North Rhine-Westphalia.

He condoled the victims' relatives and thanked the helpers: "They showed how citizens stood together in one of the darkest hours of our country." The chairman of the newly launched investigative committee on the flood of the century, Sven Wolf (SPD), assured: will provide information and make concrete suggestions to optimize flood protection in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The chairman of the NRW City Council, Thomas Kufen, presented specific proposals.

This included more disaster control exercises, comprehensive, rapid situation reports, crisis-proof communication channels, technically modernized alarm chains and clear responsibilities.

This is not only important with a view to flooding, said Essen's mayor to the German Press Agency in Düsseldorf.

“Widespread power outages caused by cyber attacks are no longer science fiction.

The current development in gas supply can also trigger a serious crisis situation.”

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The leader of the parliamentary group of the Greens, Verena Schäffer, emphasized that the black-green coalition agreement already stipulates that civil protection will be a focus of the new legislative period and that rapid reconstruction will be supported.

CDU parliamentary group leader Thorsten Schick assured: "As a country, we want to take our responsibility for people in a large-scale disaster more seriously in the future and actively support the authorities and emergency services on site." The FDP parliamentary group also expressed its sadness about the consequences of the disaster and demanded consequences.

In the flood disaster in mid-July 2021, 49 people died in NRW alone.

The damage here is estimated at around 13 billion euros.

With 180 cities and municipalities, almost half of the municipalities in NRW were affected.

In the Rhineland-Palatinate Ahr Valley, the flash flood on July 14 and 15, 2021 even claimed 134 lives.

Commemorative events with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier are planned for Thursday in both federal states.

A committee of inquiry into the flood in the NRW state parliament has been examining the actions of the authorities and possible omissions and deficits in civil protection since last October.

In many places, the population had been complained about being alerted too late;

According to rescuers, communication systems had partially collapsed.

dpa