Ahr valley in reconstruction: long wait for the flood donations

Created: 07/15/2022, 11:12 am

By: Leonie Hudelmaier

Not all houses have been rebuilt for a long time after the flood a year ago.

Hundreds of millions of euros are available.

Why?

Munich – It's been exactly a year since Enrica Grunewald's heart project sank in masses of water and mud.

The 32-year-old had previously bought and renovated an old property in the 600-inhabitant town of Ludendorf in North Rhine-Westphalia.

At the beginning of 2021 she moved into the new home with her fiancé.

But only for half a year.

July 14th changed everything.

The ground floor was under water and the entire area around it was "no longer a meadow, but a jungle", Grunewald describes the flood damage.

Now that a year has passed, the 32-year-old feels "sucked out," as she puts it.

The two still live on a construction site.

Flood disaster: not even half of the donations have been paid out so far

The 183 dead, the images of the mud and water masses and the distress in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate caused horror throughout Germany.

In the Rhineland-Palatinate Ahr Valley alone, 9,000 buildings were damaged or even destroyed.

The willingness to help was enormous.

Germany donated.

The alliance "Aktion Deutschland Hilft" raised 282 million euros in donations.

Many readers of our newspaper also donated.

But after a year, not even half of the donations – at 127 million euros – have been paid out.

So the much-needed money is on hold.

When asked by our newspaper, the alliance, in which 15 organizations provide flood aid, explained that immediate aid had been paid quickly at the beginning – a total of 35 million euros.

“Now the marathon begins with the longer phase of reconstruction.” A marathon with many hurdles.

Flood disaster: Distribution of funds is time-consuming

Actually, the then Federal Minister of Finance, now Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), demanded immediately after the flood: "The flood victims must be helped quickly, generously and unbureaucratically." However, German donation law does not allow for unbureaucratic processes.

Before private households can receive donations, insurance benefits and state aid must first be claimed.

The so-called principle of subordination is intended to prevent donations from going to the state or insurance companies.

A logical principle – but time-consuming in practice.

The Investment and Structure Bank of Rhineland-Palatinate (ISB) is responsible for state payments to flood-affected households.

The ISB informed our newspaper: Actually, an application for building damage takes six weeks.

However: "In many cases, the applications are incomplete and documents must be requested," said an ISB spokeswoman.

Until everything is correct, the process stands still.

The lack of experts required for this complicates the procedure.

On request, the Malteser relief service said: "It goes without saying that everyone - those affected, helpers and donors - would like faster processing of the damage." Because of the effort, aid organizations even offer advice on submitting an application.

Mobile homes, gas tanks, trees and scrap pile up meters high on a bridge over the Ahr.

© Boris Roessler/dpa/archive image

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Flood disaster: Much remains to be done

The result: Those affected sometimes have to take out loans themselves or fall back on their own reserves, reports Nadia Ayche, from the organization “Einfachmachen Sponsorships”.

The woman from Karlsruhe offers quick help from her living room.

The support ranges from coordination to relief supplies to direct monetary donations.

"It can't be that people have to use their savings," says Ayche of our newspaper.

Grunewald also has to take a lot of things into his own hands.

Because the shortage of craftsmen is enormous.

She understands the long processing times for applications, she says.

At the same time, the civil engineer hopes that she will “get the time she needs” – and that the aid will not run out at some point.

According to Malteser, the planning for the funds donated in 2021 will continue until at least 2025. The donation will remain earmarked.

A flood that will accompany all those affected for years to come.