The roof looks like a patchwork quilt, most of the tiles are smashed, the skylight is smashed and the car is a total loss. The storm on August 26th only raged here for about ten minutes; But there was damage that the veterinarian from Benediktbeuern estimates at 350,000 euros – just for herself and her family. Many people in Benediktbeuern and Bad Bayersoien, where the storm was particularly violent, are feeling like Anita Brenner. The full extent of the damage is now apparent there.
Hardly any of the approximately 1,000 houses in the town survived the hail and heavy rain unscathed. “The fire brigade’s initial estimate that around 80 percent of the roofs were damaged had to be revised upwards again. Almost every house was affected,” reports the mayor of Benediktbeuern, Anton Ortlieb. After the hail swept over the town, the heavy rain brought a lot of water into the houses through the many damaged roofs. Ortlieb assumes an immense amount of damage. “If you expect around 30,000 euros per house, in Benediktbeuern you are already at 30 million euros.”
For more than two weeks, people in the town have been working around the clock together with craftsmen and helpers from the region to repair the many destroyed roofs. Mayor Ortlieb speaks of an “overwhelming effort” and yet looks worriedly about the coming weeks. Although the dry and sunny days since the storm have been a gift, work still has to be done at full speed on the roofs. So far, most have only been temporarily covered with tarpaulins. But if it rains again in the next few weeks, the mayor fears further damage. “With rain there is often wind and it can get under the tarpaulins.” They are often only attached to the roofs with sandbags. If moisture gets into the house through covered roofs, the insulation could become saturated. “I want to sensitize citizens. Property is an obligation, and everyone has to take care of their house,” recommends Ortlieb.
This is currently difficult due to the immense demand for roofers and craftsmen, says Anton Lidl, who has a business in Benediktbeuern. He has been repairing roofs non-stop since the storm. One would take about three days, depending on the size. He is currently working on the seventh roof. “I can no longer avoid orders,” he says.
Anita Brenner’s roof has only been temporarily covered so far. She and her husband “begged” silo tarpaulins from farmers and used them to cover the roof themselves. After two weeks of desperate searching, she found a company that would take care of her roof – but only in two to three weeks. Until then, she hopes for dry weather.
The Benediktbeuern monastery was also badly hit by the storm.
(Photo: Uwe Lein/dpa)
In order to repair as many roofs as possible as quickly as possible, the community launched a call for tradesmen from the Traunstein and Rosenheim districts with whom citizens can network. Ortlieb reports that they also want to work with the Tyrol Chamber of Crafts to make the roofs winter-proof as quickly as possible.
The storm in Bad Bayersoien in the Garmisch-Patenkirchen district was of similar proportions. Here, too, almost every roof was affected. In Bad Bayersoien – unlike in other places – many houses have already been completely re-roofed, says Mayor Gisela Kieweg and is pleased about the “crazy activism” in the town. Despite the reconstruction work, many houses in the area are in “infinitely bad shape”. The mayor cannot yet quantify the damage in her community, but she assumes it will be a “utopianly high amount.” She is particularly concerned because many residents do not have adequate insurance coverage and around a third of the local residents are not insured against hail at all.
In order to get an overview of the amount of damage, the insurers have been having particularly damaged areas inspected for two weeks. “The biggest loss event in the last five years,” says Christian Krams, Head of Group Claims at the Bavarian Insurance Chamber, summarizing the findings so far. Insurance chamber employees have examined around 5,500 properties so far, most of them in Benediktbeuern and Bad Bayersoien. In total, the group has so far received almost 15,000 reports of damage as a result of the storm “Denis”. Around 85 percent of this relates to damage to buildings and 15 percent to motor vehicles. Damage is currently expected to be in the three-digit million range.
Most of the hail damage that has been reported to insurers so far has occurred on house roofs and cars.
(Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa)
So far, the insurance chamber has paid out advance payments of between 5,000 and 10,000 euros. In order to be able to pay the entire insurance sum, you have to rely on invoices from the tradesmen. Only then can it be paid out in full.
Anita Brenner’s insurance covers the damage caused by the hail to the roofs. But she knows from those around her that not everyone feels that way. “Many people thought their elementary insurance would cover the costs of the damage, but that’s not always the case.”
“The building and household contents insurance covers storm and hail damage to buildings and household contents,” informs Christian Krams from the Insurance Chamber. If roofs are damaged or covered, consequential damage such as rain penetration is also insured. However, many citizens don’t even know what their insurance covers and what it doesn’t. “Homeowners are still often unaware that their building is not insured against all natural hazards. Many have taken out a policy for the risks of fire, hail, storms and tap water. However, less than half of the houses in Bavaria are insured against natural hazards such as Floods, including heavy rain, floods, snow pressure and avalanches,” says a press release. “For buildings, in addition to protection against hail and storms, natural hazard insurance is also very important.”
Anita Brenner tries to see the positive despite all the hardship. “A lot of progress is going on in the town right now, and the good weather means we’re gaining some time. We’re also lucky, we have a lot of animals and they’re all still alive.”