"If you warn people of an extreme weather event and it doesn't occur exactly the way you predicted, people get angry because they might have canceled a party or a venue or whatever because of that warning. Haritz said there was a "very thin line" to operate on when issuing alerts. However, she said that nobody expected that "this amount of water could cause that incredible amount of damage." She confirmed that the German Meteorological Service (DWD) issued two alerts prior to the flooding. Nobody expected 'this incredible amount of damage'ĭW spoke to Miriam Haritz, the head of the Crisis Management Unit at the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, about the recent devastating floods and Germany's disaster warning system. "There is still no electricity, there is still no gas, and local authorities believe this can take weeks if not months to be restored," he said. Īlvarez described the current situation in Ahrweiler as "dramatic." Alvarez said some residents instead received calls from family members who told them to immediately leave their homes. "We have talked to several people here on the ground and while some of them told us they heard an alarm from firefighters, we talked to a lot of them who told us that they did not get any alarm from local authorities, firefighters or police," he said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoįrom 12:01 to 12:02 local time on Tuesday, all public transportation in Brussels will come to a standstill during a national minute of silence.īelgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said the day will be a moment for citizens "to show solidarity, closeness, and unity." Many Ahrweiler residents say they received no warningĭW political correspondent Benjamin Alvarez spoke to residents of hard-hit Ahrweiler, and said many of them did not receive warning from authorities before the flooding. Thirty-one people in Belgium have been confirmed dead from the disaster. Belgium to hold a day of mourningīelgium will hold a national day of mourning on Tuesday to remember the flood victims. European countries are concerned about the impact of the more contagious delta variant, which originated in India. Germany's public health body, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), reported 546 new daily infections on Monday. We must be careful that managing this disaster does not become a super-spreader event," David Freichel, who works for the coronavirus communications staff of Rhineland-Palatinate's state government, told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) outlet. "Many people are coming together in a tight space to deal with this crisis. German authorities are concerned that rescue efforts could boost the spread of COVID-19. Official warns rescue efforts could spread coronavirus The report says the federal government could deploy 300 temporary bridges in hard-hit areas to facilitate transportation.
Streets and roads would also need hundreds of millions of euros in repairs. The floodwaters have disrupted train services in some areas. German authorities estimate that the damage caused by the floodwaters to traffic links amounts to almost €2 billion ($2.3 billion).Īround €1.3 billion would need to go towards fixing the railroads and rail stations, the Bild newspaper reported Tuesday citing initial estimates from the transport ministry. Billions needed to fix highways, railroads The flooding has also impacted eastern Germany and Austria.Interior Minister Horst Seehofer visited affected areas in North Rhine-Westphalia.Chancellor Angela Merkel says the government will work to tackle climate change and rebuild.At least 165 people have been reported dead across western Germany, with many more fatalities across Europe.
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