Two deaths – that is the sad result of the flooding in the south so far. Olaf Scholz is taking a look at the situation himself today. It is still too early to give the all-clear in the flood areas.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has visited Upper Bavaria to see the dramatic floods for himself. The situation in the south is still dynamic and partly confusing at the start of the week. Many small communities are affected, thousands of helpers are deployed. Not far from the site of the Chancellor’s visit, rescue workers discovered another body on Monday. The 43-year-old is the second known victim of the floods – a firefighter is still missing.
Two dead recovered in Bavaria
The body of the woman was discovered in the basement of a house in Schrobenhausen in Upper Bavaria. It was the missing 43-year-old who had been sought since Sunday, a police spokesman said on Monday. The “Donaukurier” and “Bild” had previously reported on the matter.
On Sunday morning, a firefighter was found dead in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, having died during a rescue operation. The man capsized in an inflatable boat while on duty with three colleagues. A firefighter in Offingen is still missing.
Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) believes that the danger in the Free State has not yet been averted. “Things are receding somewhat, but we cannot give the all-clear,” he said on Monday on Deutschlandfunk. Even if it stops raining, the water levels of the larger rivers will continue to rise due to the inflows, he said. Regensburg on the Danube, for example, has now declared a state of emergency.
A passenger ship was also evacuated in Deggendorf in Lower Bavaria. More than 140 people have been taken off the ship since midday, a spokeswoman for the district office said on Monday.
Scholz and Faeser visit the flood area
During his visit to Bavaria, Chancellor Scholz assured those affected of his solidarity. Solidarity is “what we as people need most,” he said. “We will do everything we can, including using the federal government’s resources, to ensure that help can be provided more quickly.”
Scholz was in Reichertshofen together with Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) and Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU). She was impressed by how well the rescue services worked together, said Faeser. Her impression was that “after the Ahr Valley, lessons were also learned that things are working much better in terms of coordination and cooperation.”
She was impressed by the solidarity in the region and stressed the great importance of volunteer work. The firefighter who died in action had “saved other people’s lives at the risk of his own life.” “What people do as volunteers to save others is unbelievably great.” Volunteer work is not appreciated enough. She expressed her “deepest condolences” to the man’s family.
No all-clear, but hope in Baden-Württemberg
On Monday, the flood situation continued to have a firm grip on large parts of the region around Stuttgart, as well as in Upper Swabia and the Allgäu. While the rescue services there were still working tirelessly against the masses of water, there were slight signs of relief on other rivers.
After further rainfall during the night, the situation initially worsened, particularly in the Rems and Murr, in the Ostalb district and the Göppingen district, as well as in Upper Swabia. As a precaution, people in parts of the communities of Leinzell, Heuchlingen and Göggingen were brought out of their homes, a spokeswoman for the crisis team said. The community of Täferrot was also temporarily evacuated.
The crisis team later downgraded the flood situation. Most people were able to return to their homes. There was no all-clear. “But it is a clear sign of improvement,” said the spokeswoman.
There was also relief in the entire Rems-Murr district: The Rems-Murr Integrated Control Center announced that the flood warning had been lifted. Evacuations ordered as a precaution were also being lifted. Retention basins were being drained slowly and in a controlled manner.
Impact on schools and traffic
Many schools in particularly affected regions of both federal states had cancelled face-to-face classes for Monday, and daycare centers and special needs centers were also to remain closed. Emergency care was being set up for some younger schoolchildren.
The storm damage also affected traffic. Deutsche Bahn continues to advise against travel to southern Germany. There are train cancellations on long-distance routes, and Munich in particular cannot be reached from Stuttgart, Würzburg and Nuremberg, as Deutsche Bahn announced on Monday.
After a dam burst in Upper Bavaria, the partially closed Autobahn 9 was reopened to traffic on Monday. However, a kind of block clearance had been set up in the direction of Munich, a police spokesman said in the early afternoon.
What happens next?
The German Weather Service (DWD) is expecting persistent rain and storms in some areas of the southwest at the start of the week. South of the Swabian Alb, water quantities of 30 to 40 liters per square meter could fall by the evening. In Upper Swabia, on Lake Constance and in the Allgäu, strong thunderstorms with heavy rain are possible. Hail could also fall in isolated areas.
The German Weather Service is also expecting showers and shower-like rain south of the Danube and in the Bavarian Forest on Monday, with some heavy thunderstorms later in the day. Heavy rain is also possible.
So the rain is not over yet – but at least by the middle of the week, according to the forecasts, things should be a little more relaxed in the south.
“Turning point” in civil protection called for
When asked whether the current floods are due to climate change, Stefan Rahmstorf, climate researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), told “Spiegel”: “You can almost never say that about individual weather events. But one thing is undisputed: heavy rain is becoming more frequent and more intense due to global warming.”
The “task of stopping man-made climate change” must not be neglected, said Chancellor Scholz in Bavaria. “This is also a warning that must be taken away from this event and this catastrophe.”
Gerda Hasselfeldt, President of the German Red Cross (DRK) and CSU politician, called for more investment in disaster protection in the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “We therefore need a change of era, especially with regard to the sustainable and future-oriented financing of civil protection.”
NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) is also holding the Chancellor accountable for his demand for compulsory insurance for natural hazards. “I have the clear expectation that Olaf Scholz will now stick to his word and introduce compulsory insurance for natural hazards,” Wüst told the German Press Agency on Monday. The state leaders want to discuss this with Scholz on June 20.