Flooding in Germany

[CPT Trips]

I have not thought about Berchtesgaden for decades. We enjoyed a great ski week there, at the Armed Force Recreation Center ‘s General Walker Hotel many years ago. We even had an afternoon at the sled run over in Konigssee. That run apparently was destroyed during this latest flood.

 

I also saw that a number of Air Force families living “on the economy” are affected by the flooding. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2021/07/19/about-30-spangdahlem-families-displaced-by-deadly-floods-in-germany/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB 07.20.21&utm_term=Editorial - Early Bird Brief

[notamermaid]

Spangdahlem, yes, that is also in the Eifel, near the Kyll river that flooded, like so many other small rivers.

 

I am still digesting the news, and it is weighing heavy again. But there is also a very nice story, that when my brain is better equipped, I will post and translate some of.

 

The efforts and the money needed to rebuild the area are unbelievably high. It will take years. Right now, the help is there, so much, it is brilliant, even a fire brigade unit from the Meyer shipyards in Papenburg has come up to the Eifel.

 

notamermaid

 

[westcoastshell]

We are hoping to go on a Danube River cruise in Mid August, starting in Bavaria and finishing in Budapest. Any one know if August 2021 river sailings are impacted by the recent flooding 

[steamboats]

6 hours ago, westcoastshell said:

We are hoping to go on a Danube River cruise in Mid August, starting in Bavaria and finishing in Budapest. Any one know if August 2021 river sailings are impacted by the recent flooding 

 

Floods caused by heavy rain are usually a matter of a couple of days. By August the water has already reached the Black Sea. Nothing to worry about. On the Danube river it´s just a high water which the people along the river are prepared for. Damages might still be seen but not too many. This is not comparable to what happened along the small rivers in the Western part of Germany.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

The Meuse waters have receded, the river in Belgium is back in its bed. Still not everyone that is missing has been found and the destruction and despair are enormous: https://m.dw.com/en/belgium-grapples-with-flood-aftermath/av-58574603

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Article on travel weekly: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Historic-floods-in-Europe-have-little-impact-on-river-cruise-lines 

 

notamermaid

 

[CPT Trips]

Another article about “The Ring” as a relief center.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a37102105/nurburgring-relief-headquarters-for-flood-ravaged-germany/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rdt&utm_medium=email&date=072221&utm_campaign=nl24441935&utm_term=AAA -- High Minus Dormant and 90 Day Non Openers

[notamermaid]

Thanks CPT Trips. The extent of the damage to infrastructure is becoming clearer and the assessment is that there will hardly be any tourism possible this year, there is also damage to the vineyards and it will take years to get the infrastructure to where it is supposed to be.

 

Today and tomorrow "Helferbusse" are leaving from Koblenz, those are organised coaches filled with people that are going to help with clearing up.

 

Helicopters have been flying daily from Mainz to send supplies to villages cut off from road and rail.

 

The railway line Cologne to Koblenz is now fully running again but the branch line to the Ahr valley is in ruins.

 

notamermaid

 

[Riksu4452]

On 7/23/2021 at 4:23 AM, notamermaid said:

Thanks CPT Trips. The extent of the damage to infrastructure is becoming clearer and the assessment is that there will hardly be any tourism possible this year, there is also damage to the vineyards and it will take years to get the infrastructure to where it is supposed to be.

 

Today and tomorrow "Helferbusse" are leaving from Koblenz, those are organised coaches filled with people that are going to help with clearing up.

 

Helicopters have been flying daily from Mainz to send supplies to villages cut off from road and rail.

 

The railway line Cologne to Koblenz is now fully running again but the branch line to the Ahr valley is in ruins.

 

notamermaid

 

We will be coming to the area in a few weeks.  Is there anything needed or should we just stay out of the way of the rescue and recovery teams?

[notamermaid]

@Riksu4452 It really depends on what you mean with area. Right now, on the right bank of the Rhine you will find things as normal as they can be in this pandemic, but you may find people a bit pre-occupied just South of Bonn, mainly in their thoughts. Be prepared for minor disruptions to public transport, Deutsche Bahn has them on the website. Do a wide berth around Sinzig and the Ahr valley. Be prepared for occasional road blocks in the Eifel region, diversions will normally be signposted. South of Andernach things are fine.

 

The Moselle is fine as far as I know, I would avoid the Kyll valley which meets the Moselle at Trier Ehrang.

 

In two weeks time things will look better, but the Ahr valley is a no go area for tourism. Probably well into Autumn.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

5 hours ago, Riksu4452 said:

We will be coming to the area in a few weeks.  Is there anything needed or should we just stay out of the way of the rescue and recovery teams?

Sorry, you have also asked about what is needed. Thank you. I have heard in the news today that they have everything, more or less, there is nothing that is needed extra, they have extra doctors, tons of volunteers, etc. They only thing that they are worried about for the coming weeks is that help will get less, fewer people coming to strip plaster of walls, shift mud, etc. Not sure that you want to do this on holiday. If you are very interested in helping and able to negotiate your way around a German website, look at this one: https://fluthilfe.rlp.de/

 

Other than that what is needed is lending an ear, understanding, and sort of staying out of the way, as I have indicated. Money, lots of money, of course, beyond what infrastructure projects by the federal government can provide. There are several such funds, look at KSK Ahrweiler for example. There are so many individual stories and I have found a place that I will have a closer look at to help, probably money. I am not a good helper, no muscles.

 

In the long run, what they will need is tourists to return to the beautiful valleys, for wine sampling, hiking, etc.

 

Ahr wine is considered good to very good and not that plentiful. You can get some in good supermarkets in the area, like in Bonn for example.

 

This is one of my favourite places - Monreal. Normal:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Monreal_---_Eifel_(7649736588).jpg

 

and during flooding:

https://www.alamy.com/huge-flood-of-the-elz-river-in-monreal-eifel-on-july-15th-2021-image435026512.html

 

😢

 

That is the Elz(bach) that flows around Eltz castle and into the Moselle at Moselkern.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

13 hours ago, Riksu4452 said:

We will be coming to the area in a few weeks.  Is there anything needed or should we just stay out of the way of the rescue and recovery teams?

 

On a regular river cruise you won´t come near any of the affected areas (maybe on the Moselle river when you go up to Trier). The affected areas are sort of closed up anyway. If you want to help money donations are the way to help right now. The helpers did get into troubles as lots of clothing, diapers and stuff were donated and now they have to sort it out to give it to the people. And they don´t have the people to sort everything. So they already asked for not donating any goods anymore.

 

steamboats

[CPT Trips]

20 hours ago, Riksu4452 said:

We will be coming to the area in a few weeks.  Is there anything needed or should we just stay out of the way of the rescue and recovery teams?

My go to when I want to assist in disaster relief is MONEY. It is logistically simple, no hassle with transport, storage, and sorting. It can be readily converted into whatever specific goods and services are needed. 

[steamboats]

BTW I made a money donation and I just ordered some wine from the Ahr region. Why? A lot of local wineries are affected by the floods. Bottles are intact but covered with mud. So they are selling what was saved to rebuild their homes and the winery (the vineyards itself are not that much affected). I have to wait for it quite a while as they currently don´t have any logistics (and still are cleaning up). But waiting one or two months won´t be a problem. But I fear they don´t ship internationally.

 

steamboats

[CPT Trips]

10 minutes ago, steamboats said:

BTW I made a money donation and I just ordered some wine from the Ahr region. Why? A lot of local wineries are affected by the floods. Bottles are intact but covered with mud. So they are selling what was saved to rebuild their homes and the winery (the vineyards itself are not that much affected). I have to wait for it quite a while as they currently don´t have any logistics (and still are cleaning up). But waiting one or two months won´t be a problem. But I fear they don´t ship internationally.

 

steamboats

I need a birthday present for my niece in Hamburg. Think they’ll be ready to ship for a February delivery?

[notamermaid]

@steamboats Thanks for the idea. That is even better than depleting the supermarket shelves, so REWE and EDEKA restock.

 

Will explore that.

 

Money is very much needed in the wine region, but the other ones are suffering as well, so I will see what I can do there. Probably exploring restaurants and local shops when they are ready to receive guests again. This is likely to be soon in a few places, with many more to follow.

 

On a river cruise you are very unlikely to see the damage, but on a land trip into the hills and I wonder if it will affect any excursions. But the Eifel apart from Eltz castle and Maria Laach is a bit of an overlooked area, so probably very few.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

@CPT Trips the major problem will be the payment. I saw so far two wineries offering "flood wine". The one (Winzergenossenschaft Mayschoss Altenahr) has money transfer only as payment method and you order by email. The other (Weingut Erwin Riske) also offers money transfer only (pre payment or after delivery). They have an online shop. I myself opted for this one. I´ve added the links for @notamermaid. Maybe she finds more where you can pay with credit card.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

Thanks for the links. Nierstein and area vintners organized a charity sale but they have already sold out, it was Rhine wines, some of the money goes to the Ahrtal vintners. On the Moselle they are organising something similar.

 

@CPT Trips I have had no luck so far for something convenient for you, perhaps roam around the sites: https://www.deutscheweine.de/aktuelles/meldungen/details/news/detail/News/flutkatastrophe-an-der-ahr-so-koennen-sie-helfen/

 

https://www.winespectator.com/articles/flooding-devastates-europe-damaging-wineries-in-germany-s-ahr

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

I just saw in the news that winemakers from all over Germany came to help and worked in the vineyards so the owners can take care of the flood damage. In one place winemakers from the partner city in Hungary came to work for free in the vineyards (the grapevines have to be cut by this time of the year so the grapes get more light and sun to ripe). They all said the vineries need those grapes to pay for the flood damage. One person was renting out equipment and machines for free.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

Yes, read that. It is great, so much help. The Rhine vintners on telly said they will keep their extra workmen from Poland longer so that it is easier for them to help out in the Ahr valley.The supplier of the specialist machines is also making generous offers. Harvest will be another challenge as the presses are mostly unusable.

 

More on the Solida(h)rität here, in German: https://www.feinschmecker.de/wein/solidaritaet-nach-der-flut-unterstuetzen-sie-die-ahr-winzer

 

This is a short video on the railway infrastructure in the affected areas (not just the Ahr valley): https://www.dw.com/en/german-floods-destroy-rails-and-train-stations/av-58641992

 

notamermaid

 

 

[CPT Trips]

notamermaid, Thanks for those links. My German was good enough to to find the “button” that was labeled “English.” 🤷🏻‍♂️😉

[notamermaid]

LOL, yes I understand that. I always hope that if not the German, then the Google English helps you folks further.

 

Happened with me the other day again: French website, start reading, three sentences later, I look around the page for the British flag symbol or "EN". Found it, relieved!

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Just waiting for our delivery of German wine as one of our supermarket strap lines says - every little helps, and it’s a pleasant way to do so.

[notamermaid]

So how are things going? Not too well. In the case of one district mayor, bad indeed as there is a preliminary investigation into "negligent homicide", meaning not having done enough to warn people and potentially evacuate.

 

Clean water shortage, devastated tourism and the vineyards need attention.

 

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-floods-cripple-tourism-in-ahr-valley-and-the-eifel-region/a-58771052

 

notamermaid

 

[CPT Trips]

An investigation into a government official’s (in)action that may lead to criminal charges of “negligent homicide.” I can think of a number of candidates for that type investigation here in the good old USA; it wouldn’t be for floods, but . . .