Two weeks after the devastating floods in Rhineland-Palatinate, medical officers have criticized significant shortcomings in basic medical care in the flood areas. The situation is “still frightening” and there is a risk of epidemics in the affected regions, said the chairwoman of the Federal Association of Doctors of the Public Health Service, Ute Teichert, the newspapers of the Funke media group.
The health of the population in the disaster areas is “massively threatened because the infrastructure is not working”. Among other things, hospitals and practices were destroyed in some places. Teichert, who headed the health department in the flood-affected district of Ahrweiler until 2012, explained that many people would have to get by without urgently needed medication. This is a big problem, especially for people with diseases such as diabetes or heart disease, the newspaper report said. Now it is important to organize mobile medical units and bring them to the towns. (29.07.2021)
Federal government condemns disinformation disinformation
The federal government accused so-called lateral thinker groups of deliberate disinformation in the flood disaster and condemned this sharply. Deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said that it was “particularly vile and reprehensible” how people who are considered unconventional thinkers contribute to the uncertainty of flood victims.
It is good that the local police have reacted very quickly and that there is widespread media coverage of the cases. The disinformation and misinformation also undermine trust in the volunteers. Among other things, false calls for donations were circulating on social media channels. In the past few days there had been reports that helpers from the Technical Relief Organization (THW) had also been attacked.
“An instrumentalization of this terrible event, the counteracting of immediately important aid and the exploitation of the tense situation of the people on site, combined with attempts at mobilization, can be clearly seen here,” said Demmer with a view to the flood areas as a whole. She didn’t give any details. The corona pandemic already showed how so-called Reich citizens and self-administrators, conspiracy supporters and right-wing extremists tried to divide society under the guise of freedom of demonstration and expression and legitimate criticism of state measures.
Demmer also thanked for the global expressions of condolences in the flood disaster and for numerous offers of help from abroad. A fire brigade team from Poland helped with 150 drying devices. “This is a very nice sign for German-Polish relations.”
Interior Minister Reul: No more missing people in NRW
Two weeks after the flood disaster, no more people are missing in the affected areas of North Rhine-Westphalia. Interior Minister Herbert Reul said on Wednesday in the state parliament interior committee. In the “largest flood disaster in the history of our country” 47 people were killed, four of them were fire fighters.
According to previous knowledge, 23 people were probably hit by the water masses on the street and torn to their death, as the CDU politician reported at the special meeting in Düsseldorf. 23 people were found lifeless from their living rooms or basements. In one case, the cause of death has not yet been clarified. Reul said experts assumed “at least” a storm of a century. Up to 23,000 workers from the fire brigade, aid organizations, technical aid organization and crisis teams were in action.
During the clean-up work, there were several crimes, said Reul. So far 65 cases of theft and 31 cases of particularly serious theft as well as twelve cases of fraud have become known. In many cases, emergency services were hindered by onlookers, and more than 4,300 dismissals were issued here.
According to the police, at least 133 people were killed in neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate, 73 people are still missing in the Ahr valley. (07/28/2021)
Demand for elementary insurance is growing
After the flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, insurance companies have shown a significantly higher level of interest in natural hazard insurance. The low pressure area Bernd reported Ergo-Versicherung in Düsseldorf that the demand for such policies, which cover damage in the event of natural events such as floods and floods, has increased noticeably among sales partners. Debeka from Koblenz explained that the number of inquiries and applications for protection against other natural hazards had increased significantly since the flood. “Existing contracts will be expanded accordingly.”
After the severe flooding in West Germany, the debate has flared up about how damage from flood disasters can be better protected. The usual standard policies in building insurance include storms and hail, but not floods, floods or landslides – this must be additionally covered by natural hazard contracts.
According to the latest estimates, the flood disaster is likely to cost insurance companies in Germany up to 5.5 billion euros. Almost two thirds of the damage occurred in Rhineland-Palatinate and almost one third in North Rhine-Westphalia. Around 40,000 cars were damaged or destroyed by the floods, as well as damage to buildings. Allianz alone expects damage payments of more than 500 million euros to private and corporate customers.
The providers held back on the question of whether natural hazard policies could become more expensive after the flood. It is still too early for an answer. The contributions depend on the probability of flooding, backwater and heavy rain. The basis for this is an industry-specific four-stage geographic information system for assessing natural hazards. In the lower classes, where the risk for homeowners is very low, the policies are cheap. In the highest, however, high premiums are due, and some insurers do not even offer a policy. The strong thunderstorms of the past few years and the subsequent spontaneous flash floods also hit streets and places that were actually largely safe from flooding. (07/28/2021)
More than half a billion euros in damage to businesses in the Ahr Valley
According to an estimate, the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley caused property damage of more than half a billion euros for the companies there. A large proportion of the estimated damage amount of around 560 million euros is attributable to buildings, but machines, tools and destroyed goods are also taken into account in the estimate, said the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) and the Chamber of Crafts (HwK) Koblenz.
The hospitality industry and the hotel industry with around 11,000 beds in the district were particularly hard hit. “The region lives heavily from tourism,” said Arne Rössel, General Manager of the Koblenz Chamber of Commerce. “First the closings due to the corona pandemic and now this natural disaster: This storm is devastating for the economy, and in particular for traders, hoteliers and restaurateurs along the Ahr.” The financial situation was tense, because many companies had no elementary insurance and reserves had already been used up, he said.
The IHK is in close contact with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, because now fast and unbureaucratic support for the companies concerned is necessary. The emergency aid of 5000 euros is an important first step. But grants and funding programs must also be made available quickly. “Not to mention the restoration of the infrastructure, without which companies can only partially or not yet resume their activities,” he emphasized.
HwK General Manager Ralf Hellrich said: “It is now very important to sensibly coordinate the overwhelming willingness to help of the craftspeople from all over Germany,” he said. Financial support and logistical capacities are urgently needed to provide the helpers on site with the necessary materials. (07/27/2021)
Inspector sees “urgent need for action” in disaster control
The commander of the Bundeswehr administrative assistance, Lieutenant General Martin Schelleis, calls for deficits in disaster control to be dealt with quickly. In a telephone press conference on Tuesday, he referred to experiences in the corona pandemic and in the ongoing flood operation. “Both disasters have shown an urgent need for action to improve the national command system at all levels,” said Schelleis, inspector of the so-called armed forces base and thus national territorial commander.
“As soon as a disaster spreads beyond local areas, deficits become apparent, for example in the production and then maintenance of an up-to-date picture of the situation,” said the general. “It follows from this that the priorities may not always be set correctly and the corresponding coordination of the emergency services does not run optimally.” The Bundeswehr and all other relevant actors would have to “critically examine what we now have for knowledge and what we can learn from this renewed catastrophe”.
Schelleis sees plans to create a joint competence center for civil protection at the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Aid (BBK) with the participation of the federal states and the Bundeswehr as positive. This could only be a first step towards a central coordination platform that could be expanded at the federal level. The decision to create strategic reserves in the health sector, which could serve as a model for creating further reserves, is also positive. (07/27/2021)
Baerbock insists on greater federal participation in disaster control
The Greens are calling for more competencies for the federal government in disaster control. A central office must be created at the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief in order to coordinate and support the actions of the municipalities and states in acute cases, said Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock. In Germany, the federal states are responsible for disaster control in non-war times. This decentralization should be maintained, said Baerbock, “but we have to get better at the coordination”. For this, the Basic Law must also be changed: the powers that the federal government has in the event of a disaster in the event of a defense, it must also be given in times of peace.
At the same time, Baerbock called for a “national resilience strategy” to better prepare for the consequences of disasters, for example to protect supply chains. After all, the existing warning systems would have to be improved, for example supplemented by what is known as cell broadcast. The Greens presented a concept for reforming civil protection on Monday.
The Chancellor candidate also called for more efforts in climate protection in order to reduce the likelihood of natural disasters. The Greens would present updated proposals for an immediate climate protection program next week. They accused the CSU and CDU of “climate chaos”. The fact that the Union cannot agree on a line is a “threat to people’s security”, to the industrial location and security of supply. The “time of fiddling around, waving off, glossing over” must be over.
Persistent heavy rain led to floods in Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria on July 14th. At least 180 people were killed. After the storm, there were allegations that people in the affected areas were not warned quickly enough. (07/26/2021)