Journey to the city of the chasm. But now all the structural damage is starting to show up, the water-soaked, unstable ground. More than 140 dead
FROM OUR SEND
Erfstadt (Cologne) We have to see if the Steinbach dam holds up, it all depends on that. They are emptying it to reduce the pressure, but it takes time. Volkert Kremer an experienced firefighter, who arrived in Erfstadt to help out local colleagues, after a landslide took away three houses and a piece of the historic castle in the hamlet of Blessem, and now threatens to engulf other buildings (I also did the flood of 2002, but I had never seen such a thing, he says).
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It is hot, there are almost thirty degrees and the sun that illuminates the fields and roads does not betray anything of what happened just two days before. But now all the structural damage is starting to show up, the water-soaked, unstable ground, explains Kremer. What he looks at with most concern is the dam, a few tens of kilometers further south, in the district of Euskirchen. Iyesterday morning it seemed that the situation had improved, then in the afternoon, after the checks, the administration of the district of Cologne announced that it can still give way. Firefighters pump thousands of gallons of water an hour, but to secure it they have to empty it two-thirds, and they won’t be able to do so until 3pm today. If all goes well. For this other residents of the area were evacuated.
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Nobody wants to think about what could happen if it came down. In Erfstadt people continue to walk across the Erf bridge, incredulous: full to the brim with brown water, but even so it is no more than twenty meters wide. If what little more than a canal has dragged half a hill with it, imagine what the dam can do.
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In the meantime, the landslide area was cordoned off and guarded by helicopters, many roads were blocked, a piece of highway collapsed, in the whole district there is only secondary roads. Last night the authorities had to reiterate to the residents of the hamlet of Blessem the ban on approaching their homes: the front of the landslide is still active, too dangerous. Kremer with his team, which is responsible for securing roads and homes, made three interventions in less than four hours, including one to stop a gas leak caused by landslides and the other to evacuate a nursing home that is in danger to collapse. A little further on, the army’s armored vehicles took away the crumpled trucks and cars that had been left in the river and stuck under a bridge. They were empty, there were no victims yesterday afternoon. With the provisional toll of the flood on Thursday went up to 141 confirmed deaths in Germany alone, including four firefighters, it seems like a miracle, and everyone hopes it will remain so.
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The President of the Federal Republic Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, also arrived yesterday in Erfstadt. Many people in these regions have nothing left but their hope. And we must not disappoint this hope. Their fate tears our hearts, Steinmeier said gravely in front of the rescue headquarters. a time of need and in this moment our country is together.
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More than his words, however, the Germans were struck by the face of Laschet, who laughed behind him, surrounded by the local authorities. A reaction to something he had been told, but his laugh was endlessly postponed by websites and TV, with disdain. So much so that he then apologized. In front of the microphones he had spoken of the disaster of the century, expressed admiration for the rescuers, promised to citizens that direct aid will arrive in a very little bureaucratic way. Laschet, as well as prime minister of the Land, is the candidate for chancellor of the CDU in the next elections.And yesterday the German media commented that Angela Merkel would never do that. Laschet already has a lot to be forgiven about the climate, the candidate who holds back the most on the overcoming of fossil energy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, brought to the fore in the political debate precisely by this disaster (for scientists there is no doubt which is a consequence of global warming). In the last two days it has been very present in the flood sites. The chancellor (or would-be) in rubber boots is a much loved rhetorical figure in German politics since the Social Democrat Gerhard Schrder got himself caught in the mud during the flood of the Elbe River in August 2002, according to some, thus securing his re-election. But now Laschet’s laughter gives strength to those who believe that his is political strategy, rather than interest for the citizens.
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Those of Erfstadt yesterday had other priorities. Many were lined up in front of the aid center. My house standing, only the cellar flooded. But we have been without electricity for three days and therefore without food. All electrical appliances are broken says Nicole Kuhnke, 37. Beate Recht is mainly looking for information: I’m here with my son Fabian, waiting for a kidney transplant – she explains –. On Thursday we had time to make the last visit necessary for authorization, then they evacuated the hospital. Now I don’t know what happened to the documents, if they forwarded them to the proper authorities.
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In many other areas the situation is even more serious. The district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, the most affected: yesterday evening it counted 98 confirmed victims (43 in North Rhine-Westphalia). The missing are still sought, with little hope of finding them alive: one digs into buildings, under mountains of piled up household goods, into vehicles and other things taken away by the body of water, the police said. Over 370 people are missing.
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Then there are the economic damages, which no one has yet tried to estimate. In Schuld, where Angela Merkel will arrive today, most of the houses are destroyed, the smell of rotten mud and fuel invades the streets. The whole town without gas and it will take weeks if not months before it is restored. The center of Bad Mnstereifel full of torn cobblestones. Unrecognizable, according to the locals.
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Not far away, in the spa town of Bad Neuenahr, the district capital, the flood destroyed the vineyards together with many accommodation facilities. You don’t recognize the landscape, says Michael Lang, the owner of the town’s wine shop. They are all tourist resorts, a popular summer destination for spas, nature and good wine. This summer, it was supposed to ensure the recovery of a sector severely tested by the pandemic. The flood marks another very heavy blow.
Meanwhile, the rains have moved to eastern Germany, in Saxony. Yesterday some towns – Neustadt, Sebnitz, Bad Schandau, Reinhardtsdorf-Schna and Gohrisch – were no longer accessible and the Land Water Monitoring Center sounded the alarm about the risk of flooding. Up to 100 liters of water per square meter would have fallen. The fear that the nightmare will repeat itself.
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July 17, 2021 (change July 18, 2021 | 01:15)
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