Status: 07/21/2021 5:28 p.m.
Environmental associations have called for the reconstruction of the destroyed infrastructures in the flood areas to be adapted to the climate crisis. They advocated rebuilding buildings elsewhere and giving rivers more space.
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) has warned of a “fatal wrong path” in the planned reconstruction after the flood disaster in southwest Germany. The reflex to rebuild all the destroyed buildings as they were before the flood is understandable, explained the DUH. Such a reconstruction, however, carries the risk that people will “lose everything again” in the next flood.
The DUH therefore called for the plans to be adapted to the climate crisis. “The people affected in the regions must now be helped as quickly as possible to get a roof over their heads again,” said DUH Federal Managing Director Sascha Müller-Kraenner. However, some buildings should not be rebuilt in their previous locations, he warned. “In view of the climate crisis, we can no longer afford to build houses in floodplains, and we have to cultivate agricultural areas near rivers in harmony with nature.”
In addition, more unsealed areas and more green spaces are needed in cities. In the event of heavy rain, these would offer more space for the absorption of water. Rivers should also be given more space – near-natural rivers store larger amounts of carbon and could thus not only contribute to flood retention, but also to combat the climate crisis, explained the DUH.
These points must be taken into account when rebuilding the destroyed regions, demanded the environmental protection organization. This requires better cooperation between the federal government, the federal states and municipalities, as well as aligning the necessary financial instruments with the goals of climate neutrality, flood protection and nature conservation.
Nabu: Only a third of the floodplain
The Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu) also spoke out in favor of a change of direction. “In nature conservation, the main thing is not to repeat the old mistakes,” said Nabu President Jörg-Andreas Krüger to the editorial network Germany (RND). “Only a third of the original floodplains are still available nationwide.” The rest Areas are built on with infrastructure, trade, industry or residential buildings.
At the moment politicians are pursuing a lot of individual measures with a largely technical view. “There is a lot of talk about e-mobility or photovoltaic surfaces. But I don’t think enough how we want to deal with water in the future,” criticized Krüger. If we just look along the Rhine to see how much industry there is right on the water’s edge – none of this can be reversed so easily and, above all, quickly, “he said.” However, we should start by allocating safe areas for production and living Find.”
The Nabu President added: “That costs a lot of money, but it will also avoid billions in damage in the future.” Kruger proposed financial support for breaking up sealed areas in settlements by means of greening, in order to allow large amounts of water to run off in such a way that they could not cause great damage. This could be green roofs or the creation of small parks.
RWE offers empty houses as accommodation
In the Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate, the number of people who died in the flood disaster a week ago rose to 123. 760 injured people have been treated so far, 155 people are still missing, said police operations manager Heinz Wolschendorf in Bad Neuenahr -Ahrweiler. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the number of deaths in North Rhine-Westphalia remained at 47. This means that at least 170 people were killed in the flood in both federal states.
The energy company RWE offers people who have lost their homes due to the severe weather disaster, accommodation in empty houses in the lignite area. Specifically, it is about houses that RWE bought in the course of the relocation for the opencast mines and that are now empty, said a company spokesman. Some houses could be occupied again immediately, others would have to be supplied with electricity and water again. However, RWE is also looking for other accommodation options.
The city of Erftstadt had informed the citizens on Facebook about the offer from RWE. In order for the lignite excavators to move forward, the villages near the opencast mines must gradually give way. For this purpose, the residents are relocated, often together to a newly built residential area. The resettlement has also met with strong criticism in the region.
About 90 kilometers of the motorway were hit by flood damage
In many places, the infrastructure has been completely destroyed: roads, railroad tracks, bridges, cell phone masts, electricity, gas and water lines are all affected. According to the Deutsche Bahn, the water masses damaged seven regional lines in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate so badly that they have to be built new or extensively renovated. Tracks on around 600 kilometers are affected.
As a spokesman for the federal autobahn company said, around 90 kilometers of autobahns in the Rhineland are affected by flood damage. These are damage of varying degrees of severity. Even sections that look intact after the water has drained may not be released immediately. “We must first check whether the subsoil is stable,” said the spokesman.
When the repair work, for example on the heavily damaged Autobahn 61, could not yet be foreseen. The A61 is fully closed in both directions between the crosses Meckenheim and Kerpen. In some cases, there was no lane at all, said the spokesman. Extensive renovation measures are required.
Heavy showers and thunderstorms on the weekend
The German Weather Service (DWD) considers heavy rain to be possible again on the weekend. It was still too early for a precise classification of the main areas of precipitation, it said. “But it is precisely the German model chain, with all the uncertainties in the Eifel region, that again indicates heavy rain.”
The DWD predicts thunderstorms for Saturday. 15 to 25 liters per square meter are “likely”, 25 to 40 liters are “quite possible and larger quantities cannot be ruled out”. After sunny days, a low over the eastern Atlantic and western France will take over, which will cause heavy showers and thunderstorms. The west and south are affected first. After that, the weather change can also be felt in the north and east.