Status: 07/30/2021 5:27 p.m.
After the flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate, the number of victims increased to 135. Prime Minister Dreyer promised affected communities a further 60 million euros. Emergency aid from the federal and state governments is also coming.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, the number of deaths after the flood disaster rose to 135. This was announced by Prime Minister Malu Dreyer at a press conference of the operations management in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler.
Furthermore, 59 people are still listed as missing in their state. According to the state government, there are still 5500 emergency services in the disaster area. The clearing and relief work of the Bundeswehr and the technical relief organization are still “in full swing” in the flood area, said the Prime Minister.
Continuous support promised
According to Dreyer, the Mainz state cabinet increased the emergency aid for the communities affected by the flood to 60 million euros. With the money, the local administrations can place short-term contracts for the repair of the infrastructure. At the same time, the state cabinet set up a steering committee to coordinate the upcoming long-term reconstruction of the flood areas across departments.
An estimate of the damage caused by the catastrophe is still “not seriously possible,” emphasized Dreyer. She pledged ongoing support to the people in the disaster area. There is the “latent concern” that the country will withdraw. That won’t happen. “We know how big the task is.”
Emergency flood relief agreement
According to the state government, the costs are likely to be higher than those of the Elbe floods in 2013. At that time, the federal and state governments had set up a reconstruction fund of eight billion euros. A comparable fund is also to be set up after the recent flood disaster. According to Dreyers, a decision on this could be made at the next conference of prime ministers of the federal states on August 10th.
The agreement between the federal and state governments on joint financing of emergency aid is now perfect. The Federal Ministry of Finance announced that the federal government and the governments of those federal states that were particularly affected by the flood signed an administrative agreement. The aid measures of the federal states could thus be implemented “quickly”.
After the flood disaster, the federal government promised to double the immediate financial aid provided by the federal states for affected areas. Initially, there is a limit of 400 million euros. However, this should be increased if necessary.
North Rhine-Westphalia initially provided 200 million euros in emergency aid for citizens, companies and municipalities. Rhineland-Palatinate put together an immediate package worth 115 to 120 million euros. Payouts have started in both countries. They also emphasized that the aid should be increased if necessary. Other federal states also agreed to support.
A total of 182 victims
Extreme heavy rain had triggered devastating floods on rivers in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate just over two weeks ago. Many communities, especially in the Rhineland-Palatinate Ahr Valley, were devastated. Roads and bridges were also destroyed many times. There were 47 deaths in North Rhine-Westphalia. The total number of victims is currently 182. To a small extent, parts of Bavaria and Saxony were also affected by heavy rains and floods.