Constant rain until Thursday
SPD is considering suspending the debt brake
January 3, 2024, 12:04 a.m
Concern about major dike breaches and further flooding is growing in several regions of Germany. Because the continuous rain is expected to last until Thursday. For the SPD, the water masses are already giving rise to financial considerations based on the model of the Ahr Valley flood.
In view of the tense flood situation in Germany, the SPD is considering suspending the debt brake again. “The full extent of the flood damage cannot yet be foreseen, but for exactly such cases we have the option of suspending the debt brake, which is in the Basic Law,” said Dennis Rohde, budget policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, to the magazine “Stern”. The ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court did not change this. “We will now examine carefully whether we can achieve this financial dimension.”
The SPD chief budget officer Rohde, whose Oldenburg-Ammerland constituency is in the flood zone, emphasized the federal government’s special responsibility. “It was true for the people in the Ahr Valley a few years ago and it still applies today: the people in the affected regions can rely on the federal government,” said Rohde.
“We need more and better equipment for disasters in Germany,” said DRK President Gerda Hasselfeldt to the “Rheinische Post”. “The deficits are glaring, especially when it comes to material equipment.” After the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley in 2021, the politically responsible people’s awareness of civil protection increased. “There’s not much left of it now.”
No relief in flood areas
There are currently no signs of relief in the flood areas in several federal states. The German Weather Service (DWD) warned of continuous rain in parts of Germany, which is expected to last until Thursday night. There is great concern that the situation in the flood areas could worsen. Many dikes have weakened, meadows and fields in several regions of Lower Saxony continue to resemble lake landscapes. In other regions of Germany there were floods, for example on the Elbe.
Lower Saxony, parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, the south of Saxony-Anhalt and the north of Thuringia are still particularly affected. According to the weather service, heavy amounts of rain can be expected from Lower Saxony to the Black Forest as well as in the eastern and southeastern low mountain ranges until Thursday. Within 30 to 60 hours, meteorologists expect 30 to 50 liters per square meter, in mountainous areas up to 120 liters.