Bad-Neunahr (Rhineland-Palatinate) – More than two months after the flood in the Ahr valley, many victims feel that the federal government has left them alone.
Especially now that winter is just around the corner, people are desperate. BILD has opened a flood office in Bad-Neunahr and hears the worries and needs of those affected there.
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▶ ︎ Reinhold Balter (63), truck driver from Altenburg: “The help came too late for us. This makes me angry! We could have been warned beforehand – that would still have been possible. From Müsch to Altenburg, the water had four hours to get here. The people here didn’t have to drown. I am disappointed that no one was able to warn in time. The people here would only have had to walk 100 meters up the mountain, then they would have been out of danger. After weeks I am still in the process of dismantling my house because everything is still wet. I am glad that private helpers came, otherwise we would still be stuck in the crap – we would be lost now! “
Arno Koniarski (59), a pensioner from Kreuzberg, believes: Helmut Schmidt would have managed the disaster better Photo: Karsten Socher Photography / www.KS-Fotografie.net
▶ ︎ Arno Koniarski (59), pensioner from Kreuzberg: “If we hadn’t had the private helpers and companies, we’d still be in a mess. What THW, fire brigade and Bundeswehr sometimes held here was life-threatening. Example: A new THW excavator went up here – four days later the excavator came down: total loss! Should I say more about that? I want politicians like Helmut Schmidt back then. I am disappointed because some things took too long, too much bureaucracy, helpers were not allowed in in places, there was no organization behind them. I don’t know what or from whom we should get money. We are still waiting for a decision and winter is just around the corner. “
Udo Rössel (61) wants politicians to come up with a plan – and quickly Photo: Karsten Socher Photography / www.KS-Fotografie.net
▶ ︎ Udo Rössel (61), product developer (food industry) from Kreuzberg: “I don’t think there was a catastrophe in politics at all. That is why, from my point of view, nothing has been planned to deal appropriately with a disaster. I don’t think we were on the politicians’ screen at all. From politics I now want speed, a plan and a concept without a lot of arguments, citizen participation and a real will to build. I am curious to see whether something will happen here after the winning or losing elections of the respective parties that will continue into the future. “
Katharina (37) and Thomas Dederich (39) criticize the fact that the alarm on July 14th “did not work at all”Photo: Karsten Socher Photography / www.KS-Fotografie.net
▶ ︎ Katharina (37, office clerk) and Thomas Dederich (39) from Walporzheim: “Our opinion is that the alarm on July 14th absolutely did not work. The failure there was worst. The problem now is that one cannot calculate, we are in the air about what it looks like financially. 90% of the help came from the volunteers. It has not yet arrived everywhere, which is still a disaster area here: There are people who cannot eat at home, cannot shower, and have no normal life. It is not safe to walk on the road here because there is of course a lot of traffic and large vehicles drive around. It’s still a disaster and I think that’s how it should be treated. “
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