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Braving the masses of water together: In addition to the local community, numerous firefighters from surrounding communities were also invited. © Bauer
The Allershausen district of Göttschlag was at the centre of the emergency after a dam burst during the floods in June. The village community invited the helpers to a celebration that was at times quite emotional.
Goettschlag – A flood disaster occurred as a result of a dam burst: Göttschlag (municipality of Allershausen) gained notoriety during the floods at the beginning of June. Almost three months later, the village community invited people to a helpers’ festival. The event was a review – and many people expressed the fear that real protection from the Amper would not be implemented for the district any time soon.
The fire departments from Tünzhausen, Mintraching and Paunzhausen were among those invited. When the dam on the Amper River broke as a result of the heavy rainfall and the water flowed into the village, they piled up sandbags with the help of a rescue chain.
Tears in the eyes
“You are simply amazing,” stressed Angelika Pichler, who spoke for the village community. This praise was directed equally at the emergency services and the neighbors. The people of Göttschlag have come together, “and I hope that it stays that way in the future.” Pichler’s co-spokesman Steffen Conzelmann had tears in his eyes as he thanked the external helpers “who saved a lot of people’s asses here.” He also thought of the two “angels” Lukas Schuhbauer and Jan Groszek, who drove through the village with wheel loaders for days and transported bulky waste to the Allershausen fairgrounds. The local Eggendinger family also provided agricultural equipment for the clean-up work. Conzelmann thanked “all these people who nobody really has on their radar.”
Demands more protection: Angelika Pichler from Göttschlag. © Bauer
For the helpers’ festival, the village community was again supported with various donations, from the bouncy castle to drinks donated by breweries. With the celebration, the village community also provided a small reconstruction aid for the Allershausen restaurant Fuchswirt, which had also been badly hit by the flood and was able to reopen after more than two months. That’s why it was decided to order the food for the helpers’ festival from there.
Next flood probably only a matter of time
In addition to all the words of thanks and joy about the great cooperation, Angelika Pichler also sounded concerned: the next flood is probably only a matter of time. Therefore, protective measures must now be taken urgently. “The first will probably be the passage under the state road,” she said. Apparently, the State Building Authority was already supposed to have an on-site appointment at the passage, which had been significantly reduced with the construction of the cycle path and the crossing aid to the sports ground. However, no one in Göttschlag had heard anything about this yet.
Angelika Pichler is even more concerned about the dilapidated dam, the land for which is privately owned. She explained that no easements have been regulated in writing and that the authorities would have to buy the area to maintain, stabilize and expand the protective structure, make it usable with compensation for the farmer, or expropriate it forcibly. In this regard, the village population is very worried that nothing will happen any time soon. “The community alone will not be able to handle this,” said Angelika Pichler. She stressed: “We have to persevere on the issue.” She is currently considering taking action herself and writing a letter to the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder.
