Prepare for more disasters
Scholz promises help to flood victims
03.06.2024, 13:47
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People in the flood areas currently need two things: an end to the rain and support. Politicians can do little about the first point, but they want to deliver on the second. Chancellor Scholz explained this during a visit to Bavaria. He called for Germany’s solidarity.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged solidarity to those affected by the floods in southern Germany. Solidarity is “what we as people need most,” he said in Reichertshofen in Upper Bavaria. “We will do everything we can, including using the federal government’s resources, to ensure that help can be provided more quickly.” Solidarity is “established practice,” he stressed. “That’s the way it should be and that’s Germany.”
People in Germany must increasingly prepare for natural disasters, especially floods, said Scholz, who traveled to the town that was flooded the day before together with Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser and Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder. “This is the fourth time this year that I’ve gone to a specific area of operation,” he said, calling it an “indication that something is going on.” The “task of stopping man-made climate change” must not be neglected. “This is also a warning that we must take away from this event and this catastrophe.”
“The situation is and remains serious, critical and tense,” said Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder. Dams keep breaking through and causing flooding. Over 3,000 people have been evacuated, and the number is rising. There are currently 20,000 helpers in action in the Free State. The state government will discuss aid at its cabinet meeting on Tuesday and would also be grateful for federal involvement.
Billions have already been invested in flood protection, said the Prime Minister. However, the polder strategy must be expanded and continued – even if there is resistance in affected areas to the implementation of new flood protection measures.
Faeser sees learning effect from Ahr Valley disaster
The flooding will now shift towards other Danube cities such as Regensburg, Straubing and Passau, said Söder. However, there is hope that the preparations there can prevent the worst. Overall, a lot has been invested in flood protection. However, there is “no comprehensive insurance against climate change”.
Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser sees the current situation as a learning experience from the disaster in the Ahr Valley. She is impressed by how well the rescue services work together. Her impression is that “after the Ahr Valley, lessons were also learned, and that coordination and cooperation work much better.”
She was impressed by the solidarity in the region and stressed the great importance of volunteer work. The firefighter who died in action had “saved other people’s lives at the risk of his own life.” “What people do as volunteers to save others is unbelievably great.” Volunteer work is not appreciated enough. She expressed her “deepest condolences” to the man’s family.