climate change
Civil protectors: Some areas can no longer be settled
An aerial photo of the village of Insul shows the extent of the flood damage on July 14 and 15, 2021 on the Ahr. Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
This week marks the first anniversary of the tragic flood disaster in which many people lost their lives in the summer of 2021. An expert warns that such extreme weather events will become more frequent in the future.
The President of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), Ralph Tiesler, believes that certain areas in Germany can no longer be settled due to extreme weather events.
“As a civil protection advocate, I say that some areas should not be resettled due to climate change and the acute threat of storms and floods. This question also arises on the coasts, »said Tiesler to the newspapers of the Funke media group against the background of the annual flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. “And there is no place or area in Germany where we don’t have to take a close look,” Tiesler made clear.
“What is certain is that we live in uncertain times. Crises are becoming more frequent. Corona has fascinated us for several years now, climate change will pose even more challenges for us in the future and there is war in Ukraine, »said the top civil protection officer. Tiesler called for a new awareness of the crisis among the population. “The crisis mode must now be part of the general awareness, we have to learn that the crisis is part of everyday life,” said Tiesler.
In the flood disaster a year ago, at least 135 people died in Rhineland-Palatinate and 49 in North Rhine-Westphalia. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to comment on civil protection on Wednesday in Berlin on the occasion of the anniversary together with Tiesler and the President of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, Gerd Friedsam.