Chancellor Scholz visited a flood area in Saxony-Anhalt. On site, he promised those affected support in later repairing the damage. In the meantime, the situation is likely to ease.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has arrived in the flood area in southern Saxony-Anhalt. Together with Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) and Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU), he got an idea of the situation in Oberröblingen, a district of Sangerhausen. He also talked to emergency services.
The Chancellor, who was wearing rubber boots, had previously gotten an overview from a helicopter. Scholz, Lemke and Haseloff inspected the dike at the Helmebrücke in the morning. The Helme, which flows through Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, drains the southern part of the Lower Harz.
Scholz promises help for those affected by floods
Scholz was impressed by the solidarity of the local helpers. This shows “that we stand together in Germany”. The Chancellor promised help to the people in the flood areas. “We won’t leave anyone alone,” said Scholz. “This applies to the federal government, this applies to the states and to many others together, this is part of our country.”
When asked about the federal government’s debt brake being suspended again, Scholz said that after the flood we would have to “look at how extensive the damage is and what that means and then draw our conclusions from that.” This will be done together and in solidarity in Germany. “We will then intensively discuss and make the decision between the federal and state governments when the time comes.”
Minister Lemke announced that she would examine improvements in disaster protection. To achieve this, there must be medium- and long-term coordination between the federal and state governments on how to prepare for such flood situations.
There were occasional boos during Scholz’s visit. A group of around ten people called him a “criminal”, and “your politics are based on lies” and “go back straight away” were also heard. It is Scholz’s second on-site visit to the current flood situation. On New Year’s Eve he found out about the situation there in Verden an der Aller, Lower Saxony.
Water level exceeds alarm level
The flood situation in the Mansfeld-Südharz district remains tense. The water level on the Helme in Bennungen was reported to be 2.42 meters in the morning, exceeding the highest alert level 4. Shortly before the turn of the year, a disaster was declared in the district in Saxony-Anhalt.
The Helme River had overflowed its banks in places. In addition to Bennungen, the towns of Berga and Kelbra, as well as the Sangerhausen district of Oberröblingen, are affected by the floods in the district. The district administrator of Mansfeld-Südharz, André Schröder, expects the situation to remain tense in the coming days. “We expect at least ten days,” Schröder told the broadcaster n-tv. That depends on how the weather develops, said Schröder.
But even if cold and frost comes in the next few days, the dam will still have to release water and the dikes will have to be checked. “We still need a bit of stamina,” emphasized Schröder. There are currently around 500 emergency services on site, around 100 specialists from the Technical Relief Agency (THW) and numerous volunteers. “The region is coming together,” said Schröder. The situation is tense but stable.
The Bundeswehr will also be deployed to deal with the flood situation. The Bundeswehr announced that an application from the Mansfeld-Südharz district had been approved. The soldiers are scheduled to leave on Friday and start work on Monday. The plan is to deploy 150 soldiers by January 14th. Some soldiers had already been to Oberröblingen and advised the emergency services there.
“Troops are already in great demand”
The Bundestag’s defense commissioner, Eva Högl, warned against hasty calls for the Bundeswehr. Högl told Spiegel that the troops had shown during the corona pandemic and during the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley that they were “happy and full of conviction” to help. “But the troops are currently very challenged – in their core mission: national and alliance defense.”
“Administrative assistance is not and must not be a permanent situation. Therefore, the extent to which the Bundeswehr can help in acute flood areas should be examined very carefully,” said Högl. Districts in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt affected by the flood had submitted applications for administrative assistance.
Tense situation in Lower Saxony
In Lower Saxony, too, the flood situation remains critical in several regions. As has been the case for several days, six districts and the city of Oldenburg are affected, as a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior in Hanover said. The affected districts are Celle, Oldenburg, Emsland, Osterholz, the Heidekreis and Verden.
A so-called extraordinary event has therefore still been detected in these municipalities. This means that districts or cities can, for example, more easily access auxiliary staff. A disaster has not yet been declared in any region. There are eight independent cities and 37 districts in Lower Saxony.
Rain should let up
There is hope that the rain in Lower Saxony will ease today and in the coming days. A spokesman for the German Weather Service announced that there could finally be talk of relaxation. Rain is expected again on Friday, but little compared to the past few days. Overall, it will be drier and significantly colder. An onset of winter is expected from the weekend with snow showers, permanent frost during the day and slippery conditions with temperatures down to minus seven degrees.
The flood situation could also be easily alleviated in Saxony-Anhalt. “It’s getting drier, the heavy rains are stopping,” said Cathleen Hickmann from the German Weather Service. Light drizzle is still expected in some areas over the course of the day and on Friday, but the amounts are no longer the same as those of the past few days. Overall, it will be drier and significantly colder.