flooding
Emergency services dismantle mobile flood dikes
Fire brigade forces dismantle a mobile dike system. photo
© Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa
At the turn of the year there were floods in many parts of Germany. In some cases, mobile dikes were needed – these can now be dismantled. But the water isn’t completely gone yet.
The situation in the flood regions in parts Germany continues to relax – but all the water isn’t completely gone yet. In Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, emergency services dismantled mobile dikes. Around 100 men and women from the fire departments, the technical relief agency, the German Red Cross and the city were involved, said Sönke Wendt from the city of Oldenburg’s professional fire department.
The mobile dikes were built around the turn of the year because of the floods. These were loans from the cities of Augsburg, Duisburg, Hagen and Hanau. The question of whether the city of Oldenburg now wants to procure mobile dikes itself will certainly be discussed during the operational review, said Wendt.
Tens of thousands of people were deployed in several federal states from Christmas until well after the turn of the year. In addition to Lower Saxony, the south of Saxony-Anhalt was also particularly affected. In the Mansfeld-Südharz district there, the flood situation has also eased further in the past few days. The disaster was in effect until January 12th. However, the third of four flood alert levels still applies at the Helme at the Bennungen gauge because water is being specifically released from the filled Kelbra dam.
According to estimates by the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV), the widespread flooding in Germany will cost the insurance industry around 200 million euros. GDV Managing Director Jörg Asmussen had accused states and municipalities of deficits in prevention.