Flooding in Germany

[travelingman]

notamermaid  - How  are  things going in the German towns that had the floods?

 

[notamermaid]

It depends on the area. Some of the infrastructure is back, so the lesser hit places are doing the standard clearing up after flooding. But the Ahr valley is still a mess in some places. It appears that one major bridge will be back in operation soon but they still heavily rely on makeshift solutions. The Bundeswehr is ending its official helping mission, but regional helping hands will stay. Problem now is to organise the school children in their new schools. Some buildings cannot be used so they travel many kilometres to others.

 

Still problems with infrastructure, telephone lines, etc. This will last well into the autumn and as regards the railway line probably into next year.

 

And the amount of rubbish is unbelievable! They are struggling to clear it all away.

 

My neighbour received her "flood wine" parcel last week. A lovely selection it is, she says. Laboratories have tested bottles, they are fit for selling and drinking. Those parcels are a great help. Almost all vintners in the Ahr valley suffered damage.

 

One curious problem is the train Rheingold Express which got stranded in its depot in Gerolstein. Repairs need to be done but both lines that the train uses to get onto the main lines along the Moselle and Rhine were cut off during the flooding. They were going to discuss with Deutsche Bahn to reactivate a third line that has been disused for some years. I will follow this up. Basically, that railway heritage company cannot operate at all at the moment, apart from let us say 10 kilometre short trips. They normally organize holidays throughout Germany.

 

A few days ago, the memorial service for the victims was held. Very hard, I did not listen to it.

 

Next problem: organising and administering the general election.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by notamermaid
Grammar

[notamermaid]

A video from Deutsche Welle:

https://youtu.be/v2KBIA2MKmM

 

notamermaid

 

[travelingman]

Thank you @notamermaid.  It is sad to hear that so much has been done but so much still is left to be done.  Appreciate the youtube video.  Nothing like seeing it to really realize how bad it was and still is.

I know the residents must really appreciate the help the volunteers are giving.

 

Thanks again for the update.

 

Stan

[notamermaid]

The railway situation is this. Gerolstein in the Eifel is a hub where the Northern part and the Southern part of the line Cologne to Trier meet and from the East comes the Eifelquerbahn with its starting point in Andernach on the Rhine. The line from Cologne to Trier is unusable as a complete line as it has damage to the North and damage to the South of Gerolstein. The Eifelquerbahn is fine but has been off the grid for 10 years. The "Friends of the Eifelquerbahn" are in close negotiations with DB about reactivating it and for the purpose of giving fast relief to the region they would like a provisional license with minimal repairs done as soon as possible. The section closest to the Rhine - that is from Andernach to Kaisersesch - is still in constant use, but another section should help to get children to school and help the stricken region for easier access. It would also aid tourism.

 

Right now it is of course possible to get from Cologne to Trier via the fast line through Koblenz.

 

I have been on the section form Andernach into the hills. Really nice. Would like to do it again. Mayen is a pretty small town with town walls and castle. Schloss Bürresheim is one of my favourite places in the region.

 

notamermaid

 

[sharkster77]

Just read a piece on snopes.com about all the wet/moldy/damaged euro notes that have been turned into the Bundesbank in Germany as a result of all the flooding.  They normally get about 40 million euro turned in for exchange per year---they've received about 50 million euro in just the last 6 weeks!  The notes are dried, counted and verified, then destroyed at a facility in Mainz.  

 

https://www.snopes.com/ap/2021/09/02/german-central-bank-inundated-with-money-damaged-in-floods/

[notamermaid]

Let us have some good news. Around two weeks ago, part of the railway line in the Ahr valley reopened. A life line, really helping to get life closer to normal. It reconnects the valley line with the main Rhine line at Remagen.

 

Here are some details of what an enormous task this was: https://railway-news.com/germany-route-severely-damaged-by-floods-reopens-today/

 

And the Ahr valley tourism board says: "Come back. Take the train and hike through our vineyards."

 

The Ahr valley is coming back to life. Slowly but steadily.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is still a very difficult time in the Ahr valley. Here is a bit of info that is far from trivial: 700kg of explosives (naturally most of that WWII legacy) have been found during clearing the valley of rubble and rubbish. Dangerous - and there are petrol and chemicals in that rubbish, too.

 

There is still a great charity spirit in that larger area and beyond. The Ahr valley and Eifel have not been forgotten. So when one farmer wanted to help his neighbours he thought of asking wider Germany about donating fir trees for the stricken people as a sign of hope and happiness for Christmas. He got a very nice response. Here is the video of regional broadcaster SWR which needs no translation, the scale of help is clear, but I will give a couple of short translations. Christmas trees make eyes light up ((in joy)) in the Ahr valley: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/weihnachtsbaeume-fuers-ahrtal-100.html

 

Herr Schäfer grabbed his phone in the hope that he could get people to donate Christmas trees. He expected 20 to 30. Then he was informed 800 would arrive by truck from the Spessart region (near the Main river). He cried (he literally says "I had wee in my eyes"). In a nearby town they received 400 trees from the Sauerland region (that is closer, in North Rhine-Westphalia). One gentleman says he is so grateful, he is still in the process of refurbishing his house. Everything. He sometimes thinks "I just go into the cellar to get something" but then realises "hang on, there is no cellar anymore".

 

It is probably obvious but I will say it anyway as it is so sweet: the little girl points to one of the trees. She has chosen the family Christmas tree! ☺️ 

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Today is the anniversary of the flooding in the Ahr valley. Television is doing special reports. I have not been able to watch them. I woke up this morning with a sadness that I have not been able to shake off. It has been made worse probably by a very dear person returning from a recent day trip to the valley saying "it still looks awful". People in the valley are angered about bureaucracy, broken promises and feel forgotten over what else is going on in the world. Due to a project at work and the relative proximity to where I live, I have certainly not forgotten. What keeps coming back to me is what I posted during the evening of that day in the thread on the Rhine, by chance "immortalizing" the visual display of a disaster in the making:

 

quote "Here is the current flooding map for Germany, it shows the gauging stations:

Purple is the worst colour. The big blue patch at the bottom of the map is Lake Constance. Much of that water in Switzerland will go to the Rhine." end quote

 

Much of the Ahr valley turned red and purple. Not long after I posted this map one of the gauging stations failed as the level went off the scale and broke the instruments.

 

Recovery in the Ahr valley will take years. Full emotional recovery - can the people ever?

 

I will go to bed with a heavy heart and pray that the gauge closest to me will never ever get to purple.

 

notamermaid