flood disaster
Waiting for the decision to rebuild on the Ahr
The ruins of a house in Mayschoß still bear witness to the force of the water masses. photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
It will soon be the second anniversary of the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley. In the meantime, exhaustion and discouragement are spreading among the people. Here and there, however, there is also confidence – and new problems.
Almost two years after the Ahr flood, Bernd Gasper is at a low point with at least 134 dead – including his mother-in-law. The 70-year-old and his wife Brigitte are tormented by serious worries about the future. In their alternative quarters near Bonn, they are waiting for the approval of their application for money from the federal and state reconstruction fund submitted to the Investment and Structure Bank (ISB) in November 2021 – increasingly desperate. After the demolition of their house, which was destroyed in the stinking masses of water, they want to rebuild a little further away from the river in their hometown of Altenburg.
Bernd’s older brother Gerd (81) rebuilt with the money from his insurance just a stone’s throw away. He has switched the oil heating to gas, a solar panel for hot water is currently being installed on the roof – and the facade is being insulated. “It has become empty,” says the 81-year-old, referring to two recently demolished houses on neighboring properties. “Life has not returned yet.” But his nephew is already back and his sister-in-law will probably move back into her house in late summer. “So you have a bit of a speech again.” And: “Confidence is growing.”
It’s completely different with his brother: “We need the final decision from the ISB in order to get additional money from the aid organizations, because a new start cannot be made with the money offered by the ISB,” says Bernd Gasper. “We have already had to cancel five appointments because the final decision was repeatedly promised but not issued to the aid organizations.” The couple survived the night of flooding in mid-July 2021 in mortal fear on their roof – they have nothing left. Bernd and Gerd Gasper’s parents’ house had to be demolished immediately after the disaster.
According to the ISB, Bernd Gapser’s application is a “replacement building project” because he does not want to build again in the same place – in the immediate vicinity of the Ahr. “These projects differ from the processing of applications for construction assistance in the event of damage to buildings – they are more complex and require a longer processing time.”
Letter to Merkel’s office so far unanswered
“They promised us quick, unbureaucratic help,” says the 70-year-old bitterly, pointing to the spot near the Ahr where he spoke to former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) after the disaster, in the presence of Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD). “I believed them then. Reality has now caught up with us.” His letter to Merkel’s office has so far remained unanswered. Now he has also turned to the State Chancellery in Mainz for help.
With the billions of euros in the federal and state reconstruction fund, winegrower Alexander von Stodden from the wine town of Rech has to keep thinking about a letter of indulgence. “It’s frightening how slowly this is happening,” says Stodden, who is also active in local politics. There is no plan for reconstruction. At first he said it would take five years for outsiders to see nothing and ten years for us to see nothing. He no longer thinks that is achievable. “You really notice that the air is out – and frustration arises.” The winemaker fears: “The guest looks at it for a while and then he doesn’t come anymore.”
Ahr District Administrator Cornelia Weigand describes the mood as follows: “Many people are just very, very exhausted. That’s also quite normal.” The non-party politician, who was mayor of the Altenahr association of municipalities on the night of the flood – to which Rech and Altenburg belong – reports: “Many people in the Ahr Valley are becoming lone fighters in the face of the consequences of the flooding, because everyone – including neighbors and friends – has to deal with the has to do with your own development and you can only support each other to a limited extent. Because they are all fighting the same fight.”
Dispute over damaged Nepomuk Bridge
Very close to Stodden’s family business from 1900 – the renowned Jean Stodden red wine estate – are the remains of the Nepomuk Bridge from 1723, which was badly damaged in the flood and which is actually supposed to be demolished. On the other hand, resistance from preservationists has formed, especially outside of the Ahr Valley, and the mayor resigned in the dispute. “If the bridge can’t be demolished, the village is dead because it can’t be developed any further,” says Stodden. “Who says that we can no longer build monuments today?”
Hotelier and restaurateur Wolfgang Ewers from Insul says: “The bridge may be old, but if they had known how to build a tension bridge back then, they would have built it too. And now the bridge is broken anyway.” Insul is about 25 kilometers upstream.
“We’re working to capacity,” says Ewers, happy about his business that’s flourishing again. In addition to the increased prices, his problem is above all the lack of skilled workers: “We can’t find any staff.” Many guests – old and new – come because of the major events at the Nürburgring. Hikers from the higher Ahrsteig also stopped by, as did cyclists, because the cycle path is now open to traffic again as far as Altenahr, but not as far as the Rhine. “And the train is still missing. I’m excited to see when it will go through the whole valley again.”