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In the photo: A tragedy occurred in the night of July 14-15 Twelve residents with disabilities drowned in their rooms on the ground floor in the floods of the Ahr The Ahr flood kills twelve residents with disabilities in the Lebenshilfehaus in Sinzig “ZDFzoom: Die Spur” asks: Could the disaster have been avoided The documentary “Left alone in the flood – the tragic death of twelve people with disabilities” can be seen on Wednesday The public prosecutor is certain: If the residents had been warned earlier about the flood on the Ahr The water did not come as a surprise - there was enough time The people with disabilities drowned in a Lebenshilfe residential home in Sinzig Sinzig is located almost at the end of the Ahr On the night of the floods from July 14 to 15 masses of water had already been devastating the villages upstream of the Ahr for hours the residents of Sinzig were only really warned about half an hour before a flood wave flooded the house Only one supervisor was on duty that night He was unable to evacuate all the residents alone but there was not enough time for twelve residents; they remained in their rooms on the ground floor and drowned No fire brigade and no police - no one rushed to help them In order to understand what happened on the night of the flood in July last year Cristina Helberg and Johannes Musial are getting to the bottom of the events They are meticulously reconstructing what happened in the hours before the ground floor of the residential home for people with disabilities sank into the waters of the Ahr Torben Becker and Johannes Musial will be available in the ZDF Mediathek for two years from the day of broadcast Driven by the question of whether the deaths of the twelve people could have been prevented they try to understand the responsibilities of the authorities and politicians the journalists meet angry relatives and traumatized neighbors a firefighter and courageous first responders Their research paints a picture of an unprecedented system failure The question remains: does someone have to take responsibility for the unforeseen And how are the bereaved supposed to find peace if that doesn't happen Around the first anniversary of the Ahr Valley flood in July ZDF will have a program focus on the topic “Plan b” is already dealing with measures to protect against such natural disasters on Saturday Daily updates on social media at @PRAgentMedia Listen to article: Want to read new articles immediately By Jan-Christopher Sierks AIVily – a Sierks Media Initiative AI systems such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini are increasingly influencing the way [Read more...] Backlinks have become a central component of digital marketing and SEO strategies. 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[Read more...] PR Agent has been publishing new media news and press releases in eight languages ​​every day since 2016 Sierks Media, Hamburg, is the publisher of PR Agent, the Shots Magazine and Sierks.com ➡️ Dispensing coffee ➡️ @ PR Agent Media ➡️ @ PR Agent Media Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page AHRWEILER, Germany (AP) — Like other residents of his town in Germany, Wolfgang Huste knew a flood was coming The 66-year-old antiquarian bookseller in Ahrweiler said the first serious warning to evacuate or move to higher floors of buildings close to the Ahr River came through loudspeaker announcements at around 8 p.m Huste then heard a short emergency siren blast and church bells ring Huste rushed to rescue his car from an underground garage he saw his vehicle floating down the street He would learn later that he also lost books dating back to the early 1500s and estimates his total losses at more than 200,000 euros ($235,000) “The warning time was far too short,” Huste said Sirens in some towns failed when the electricity was cut there were no sirens at all; volunteer firefighters had to go knocking on people's doors to tell them what to do Huste acknowledged that few could have predicted the speed with which the water would rise But he pointed across the valley to a building that houses Germany's Federal Office for Civil Protection where first responders from across the country train for possible disasters Local officials who were responsible for triggering disaster alarms in the Ahr valley on the first night of flooding have kept a low profile in the days since the deluge At least 132 people died in the Ahr valley alone Authorities in Rhineland-Palatinate state took charge of the disaster response in the wake of the floods but they declined Friday to comment on what mistakes might have been made on the night disaster struck “People are looking at a life in ruins here there were many dead," said Thomas Linnertz the state official now coordinating the disaster response I have to say again: This was an event that nobody could have predicted.” The head of Germany's federal disaster agency BKK acknowledged to public broadcaster ARD this week that “things didn’t work as well as they could have.” His agency is trying to determine how many sirens were removed after the end of the Cold War and the country plans to adopt a system known as ‘cell broadcast’ that can send alerts to all cellphones in a particular area resident Heiko Lemke recalled how firefighters came knocking on doors at 2 a.m. long after the floods had caused severe damage upriver in Ahrweiler nobody had expected the waters of the Ahr to rise as high as they did in his community last week “We were totally confused because we thought that wasn't possible.” Within 20 minutes the water had flooded the ground floor of his family's house but they decided it was too dangerous to venture out “We wouldn't have managed to make it around the corner,” said his wife Twelve residents of a nearby assisted living facility for people with disabilities drowned in the flood Police are probing whether staff at the facility could have done more to save the residents but so far there is no suggestion that authorities could face a criminal investigation for failing to issue timely warnings Experts say such floods will become more frequent and severe due to climate change including by revising calculations about future flood risks improving warning systems and preparing populations for similar disasters “But maybe it would be even better to leave,” he said Inclusive Climate Action and Planning Needed after 12 Perish On July 15, twelve people with disabilities living in a group home drowned in floods in Sinzig because they did not manage to evacuate in time As the climate crisis intensifies, governments of big greenhouse gas emitters like Germany have human rights obligations to reduce their emissions and prepare for these foreseeable risks, in part by ensuring those most at risk are protected. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires states to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of natural disasters Those most at risk of climate change deserve to have their voices heard and their rights upheld before disaster strikes.  Poverty and Gender in Germany’s Social Security System Domestic Violence Against and Neglect of Women and Girls with Disabilities in Kyrgyzstan Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. Join our movement today. Get the world’s top human rights news, every day. Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808 Still, the 2024 event produced plenty of hard racing, a searing atmosphere of over 300,000 spectators and one elated team in Scherer Sport who took overall victory in their Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II tempered racing to keep the crowd on their feet with the unpredictable weather throwing regular curveballs into the mix and leading to some pretty spectacular accidents It also meant around 1/5th of the entrants failed even to finish One of those cars included the M4 GT3 driven by Rowe Racing which was involved in a massive multi-car car crash on the 21st lap as the team was applying pressure for the lead Another notable moment involved MSC Sinzig's Audi RS3 LMS an engine fault led to an oil leak out through the exhaust the driver emerged unscathed as on-track marshalls reacted swiftly to deal with the situation Soon after this was when the fog started to blanket part of the Nordschleife. By 11:20 pm, it had spread across the entirety of the Green Hell, and officials had no choice but to halt the race. It stayed that way for the next 14 hours, after which Scherer were officially crowned winners of the shortest-ever N24. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Look out for your regular round-up of news No money from the licence fee was used to create this website The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes BBC is a trademark of the British Broadcasting Corporation When the Ahr River burst its banks in 2021 188 people died and whole villages and towns were destroyed When the waters rose, Meike and Dörte Näkel weren’t worried. People in this part of the world, the Ahr valley in Germany, are used to it. The river flooded in 2016, bursting its banks and rising almost four metres in catastrophes remembered only in stories read from history books to bored schoolchildren The sisters’ great-grandmother Anna Meyer lived through the 1910 flood although she never spoke of it to Meike and Dörte They are the fifth generation of their family to make wine in the village of Dernau who has dark hair that comes down to her waist widely credited with transforming it from a place where sugar was added routinely to cheap bad wine into a region with award‑winning vintages After studying at the prestigious Hochschule Geisenheim University, the sisters took over the family estate, Meyer-Näkel View image in fullscreenDörte (left) and Meike Näkel. Photograph: Sandra FehrThis is red wine country. Tourists come from across Germany and the surrounding countries to hike the red wine trail walking from village to village to drink pinot noir from local producers The slopes are so steep that you wonder how anyone could pick the grapes without tumbling down yet every September the harvest is brought in without incident The Ahr threads its way through the villages of Schuld then Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler – the biggest town in the Ahr valley – and on to Sinzig the rain was pounding and the river was near-bursting The sisters and their employees worked quickly to lay down sandbags and close the doors and windows to the winery The corrugated iron sheeting on the warehouse walls began to buckle and fold The water rose so quickly that the sisters took refuge up a flight of stairs in the winery but they weren’t sure if the metal platform on which they were sitting would collapse There was no way of accessing the roof and nowhere else to go “We thought: it’s not so far – maybe we can swim to the vineyards View image in fullscreenFlood damage at the Meyer-Näkel winery in Dernau.They entered the water It was only 15 metres or so from the winery to higher ground “But there was no chance of swimming,” Dörte says “The water just took you where it wanted to.” For a while until the water rose so much that the fence was beneath their feet It was relentless; they could no more swim their way out of it than they could make it run uphill They would spend the next eight hours shivering in its branches detached from their foundations like boats that had slipped their moorings The tree on which they were sitting suddenly didn’t seem so sturdy “There was no chance to get to another place,” says Meike “The strength of the water was so incredible.” listening to the shrieks and groans of the crashing water and the wails from nearby rooftops The rain had fallen with such intensity that by 5.30pm the main road in Altenahr had become a second river the villagers who had stayed on lower land to protect their homes and businesses began shouting to each other Across the region, 150mm of rain fell in 72 hours The water level is believed to have risen as much as 10 metres that night because all the measuring apparatus was washed away leaving only high-water marks on buildings for the scientific record All over the Ahr, in Ahrweiler, in Dernau, in Altenahr, the cemeteries gave up their dead. The freshly buried rose first, then the long-departed. Rescue workers would later sift through the mud and the silt to recover these bodies, but also those whose lives were stolen by the flood waters. That night, 188 people died in Germany many older people who were asleep or unable to get to higher floors German prosecutors are considering bringing negligent homicide charges against an Ahrweiler district official; the individual in question denies any wrongdoing Entire buildings were washed away with their inhabitants trapped inside Bodies were found as far away as Rotterdam a family-owned guesthouse on the main square in Altenahr watched in horror from her upstairs window as the house across from her was wrenched from its foundations with an elderly couple stuck inside She didn’t know if her building would be next people will say: ‘The floods won’t come again.’ But they willCharlotte BurggrafIn Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler scarcely a street in either of the twinned towns was spared About 8,800 homes were destroyed across the region When the waters receded on the morning of 15 July people who had lived in Ahrweiler their entire lives couldn’t orient themselves “It was like I was standing on the moon,” says Marc Adeneuer “It was unbelievable.” He stood in the town square for 15 minutes He went to the cemetery where his son and his father were buried as they waited for a rescue they weren’t sure would come Meike and Dörte tried to keep their spirits up What had become of the 380 barrels in their winery They soon came to the conclusion that everything must have been destroyed They tried to remember if they had flood insurance (They did.) The next question: would they cut their losses and walk away the fish-scale roofs glint in the winter sun and the medieval timbered houses lean charmingly you can drink from fine crystal glasses on pale wood benches We want to talk about quality.” Adeneuer agrees: “We don’t want pity.” But the tourists haven’t returned in their old numbers. There aren’t enough hotels open, but, more importantly, the infrastructure isn’t there. The railway line between Walporzheim and Ahrbrück was washed away in the flood and won’t be rebuilt until the end of 2025 The picturesque Ahr cycle path is mostly closed Many of the campsites that appealed to younger and more cost-conscious tourists won’t reopen; they should never have been permitted in the first place The hillsides are too rocky and vertiginous while the schist bedrock doesn’t allow water to infiltrate meaning that rainwater shoots off the hills in torrential flows View image in fullscreenSteffi Nelles (right) and Andrea Babic inside Haus Caspari in Altenahr which is still a construction site nearly three years on Photograph: Thomas Lohnes/The GuardianWithout enough beds or a way of getting to the nearby cities of Cologne and Bonn the tourists mostly don’t come; when they do leaving before dinner instead of wining and dining until late in the night but they don’t want to walk through the dirt on their holidays for two weeks.” and especially in the villages further up the valley construction trucks spray gravel across the road and spindly cranes pick at the hillsides The landscape is pockmarked with diggers and piles of earth you see construction placards and metal fencing workers in hard hats and scaffolders with poles portable toilets and piles of building materials children go to school in shipping containers You will find derelict houses along all the main streets in Altenahr and Dernau some have owners who are involved in tortuous disputes with governments and insurers the Altenahr guesthouse her grandfather bought after the second world war eight-bedroom guesthouse – there are two smaller buildings that Nelles hasn’t even begun to refurbish – is a building site We struggle to hear each other over the burring of drills Nelles says she was assured by various professionals that government funds and insurance payouts would cover the cost of her rebuild only to realise later that she couldn’t claim as much as she had hoped She is €800,000 short of what she needs to complete the work we have no plan for what to do now,” she says We made this plan and everything was going to be finished for them and they were looking forward to it View image in fullscreenAltenahr’s main square in the aftermath of the flooding.After the floods when the entire German press decamped to the Ahr Nelles’ neighbours gave interviews and started crowdfunding pages that raised thousands of euros “Why didn’t you go on television and put your kids in the front row and say: ‘We are poor people – please give us money’ Because other people did that and they are now finished with building – they live a good life.” Hundreds of people travelled to the Ahr in the aftermath of the floods to work as volunteers Nelles would be working in a human chain to shift flood debris and suddenly a total stranger would join the chain “You had this feeling you are not alone,” she says “People came and helped you.” But there were also disaster tourists taking pictures,” Nelles says in disbelief Nelles has only enough money to pay the builders for another fortnight “We don’t know what will happen,” she says But something must work out.” She takes me on a tour of the partly refurbished building The reception area has been freshly tiled with green porcelain; the day the tiles arrived was a good day where an electrician is at work on a fuse board that takes up most of the wall She inspects her €8,000 industrial cake mixer The sisters have invested in better windows blocked up their basement windows and built a small wall to go around the perimeter of the guesthouse But it won’t protect them from another flood of the magnitude of 2021’s – they know that There is a well-known term in hydrological circles: flood dementia people tend to forget about historical events,” says Stefan Greiving a professor of spatial planning at the Technical University of Dortmund Instead they built the Nürburgring racing track to create jobs during a time of high unemployment Flood-affected communities in the Ahr are actually disincentivised from making their homes more flood-resilient which includes Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler and surrounding villages people are required to rebuild on a one-for-one basis and you want to move the science laboratory from the ground floor to the third so that equipment can be protected in the case of another flood insurers and government funds won’t cover the cost of fitting I have the feeling that people could forget about the floods too early,” says Charlotte Burggraf an employee of the district administration of Ahrweiler they’ll say: ‘The floods won’t come again.’ But they will You need to be getting protection and you need early-warning systems People may forget how dramatic the events of 2021 really were.” View image in fullscreenThe devastation in Schuld Photograph: Sascha Steinbach/EPAAcross the Ahr without flood mitigation measures in place The flood of 14 July was particularly catastrophic for multiple reasons The authorities failed to issue warnings and mandatory evacuations until it was too late The Ahr had not flooded with significant loss of life for more than 100 years And their homes had been built in places that never should have been inhabited The Romans knew to build away from the Ahr; the medieval church fathers The churches in Altenahr and Dernau did not flood there were flood-retention areas around the Ahr Houses were built up stone steps from the road Meike says: “I think, in the past, people were more careful about where they built. Why have we forgotten? Are we so stupid or self‑confident that nothing can harm us? That is kind of crazy.” When they were studying wine cultivation at university, the Näkel sisters were taught to strip everything away and use only the evidence of their senses. They learned to smell things before tasting them. “Who, in our society, smells an apple before biting into the apple?” asks Meike. For years, the sisters had seen the climate crisis affect the way they worked. Their summers went from being wet to dry and hot. There were weeks without rain, something that would have been impossible in the past. Rather than removing the leaves from the vine to keep the grapes dry and healthy, now the sisters left them, to cast a shadow. The harvest moved forward a month, from October to September. After the July 2021 floods, they knew that climate breakdown would make these extreme weather events more likely. “My father always said: ‘We cannot change the weather,’” says Meike. “We have to work with it.” They drive me to their vineyard, up twisting roads. The vines tumble away from us down the hillside. “Humans are just tiny against nature,” says Dörte, surveying her vines from the top of a hill. Werner taught them to plan long-term when planting their vines, to understand and respect nature. Their university lecturers taught them to listen to their senses. So, Dörte and Meike have decided to relocate their winery from the banks of the Ahr to the top of a hill. It took them a year and a half to persuade the farmer to sell the land. Their insurance will not cover the relocation, so they are putting up the money themselves. They hope to start construction this winter. something like the flood will happen again,” says Meike What I plan now must also stand in the next generation.” So After the flood, the sisters thought they had lost everything. But then the phone calls came: a barrel of wine had been found in this person’s garage, or in front of that building. It was a race against time to recover the 300kg barrels before the wine spoiled in the sun. In all, the sisters rescued nine barrels. They call these wines the Lost Barrels “We didn’t have our own machines; we didn’t even have a bucket,” says Dörte They didn’t want to avoid talking about the flood “We want to keep the memory alive,” says Meike It has been nearly two years since the floods and flood preparedness is not on the national agenda Some municipalities have implemented useful initiatives What is the overarching goal or objective for a flood-resilient Ahr valley in 20 years?” I walk along the main promenade that connects Ahrweiler and Bad-Neuenahr Recently rebuilt houses sparkle in the sun three-storey house that looks to be freshly repainted A child’s bedroom on the ground floor faces the river I can see a brightly patterned duvet and clowns hanging from a mobile floodwaters swept through an assisted living center Rescue workers across Germany and Belgium rushed Friday to prevent more deaths from the continent’s worst flooding in years as the disaster claimed dozens more lives and the search went on for hundreds of missing people the floodwaters also left thousands of Germans homeless after their dwellings were destroyed or deemed to be at risk and elected officials began to worry about the lingering economic effects from lost homes and businesses dikes on swollen rivers were at risk of collapsing and crews raced to reinforce flood barriers Sixty-three people perished in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate including 12 residents of an assisted living facility for disabled people in the town of Sinzig who were surprised by a sudden rush of water from the nearby Ahr River In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state but officials warned that it could increase German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was “stunned” by the devastation and pledged support to the families of those killed and to cities and towns facing significant damage READ MORE: More than 60 dead, dozens missing in heavy Europe floods our country stands together,” Steinmeier said in a statement “It’s important that we show solidarity for those from whom the flood has taken everything.” A harrowing rescue effort unfolded in the German town of Erftstadt where people were trapped when the ground gave way and their homes collapsed Fifty people were rescued from their houses county administrator Frank Rock told German broadcaster n-tv Aerial photos showed what appeared to be a massive landslide at a gravel pit on the town’s edge “One has to assume that under the circumstances some people didn’t manage to escape,” Rock said Authorities cautioned that the large number of missing could stem from duplicated reports and difficulties reaching people because of closed roads and disrupted phone service The country had confirmed the deaths of 20 people Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told the VRT network Friday Several dikes on the Meuse Rriver that runs from Belgium into the Netherlands were at risk of collapsing Authorities in the southern Dutch town of Venlo evacuated 200 hospital patients due to the river’s looming threat who hopes to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel as the nation’s leader after Germany’s election on Sept said the disaster had caused immense economic damage to the country’s most densely populated state “The floods have literally pulled the ground from beneath many people’s feet,” Gov Federal and state officials have pledged financial aid to the affected areas the governor of Rhineland-Palatinate state said the disaster showed the need to speed up efforts to curb global warming She accused Laschet and Merkel’s center-right Union bloc of hindering efforts to achieve greater greenhouse gas reductions in Germany Europe’s biggest economy and a major emitter of planet-warming gases A street is flooded following heavy rainfalls in Erftstadt We are experiencing it up close and painfully,” she told the Funke media group repeated his calls for greater efforts to combat global warming “Only if we decisively take up the fight against climate change will we be able to limit the extreme weather conditions we are now experiencing,” he said Experts say such disasters could become more common in the future “Some parts of Western Europe … received up to two months of rainfall in the space of two days What made it worse is that the soils were already saturated by previous rainfall,” World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis said While she said it was too soon to blame the floods and preceding heat wave on rising global temperatures Nullis added: “Climate change is already increasing the frequency of extreme events And many single events have been shown to be made worse by global warming.” The German military had deployed over 850 troops to help with flood efforts Defense Ministry spokesman Arne Collatz said He said the ministry had triggered a “military disaster alarm.” firefighters and rescue dinghies to Belgium to help in the search for missing people troops piled sandbags to strengthen a 1.1-kilometer (0.7 mile) stretch of dike along the Maas River and police helped evacuate low-lying neighborhoods Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the government was officially declaring flooded regions disaster areas making businesses and residents eligible for compensation Dutch King Willem-Alexander visited the region Thursday night and called the scenes “heartbreaking.” heavy rain in Switzerland caused several rivers and lakes to burst their banks Public broadcaster SRF reported that a flash flood swept away cars flooded basements and destroyed small bridges late Thursday in the northern villages of Schleitheim und Beggingen the mayor of the hard-hit German city of Hagen 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Cologne said a wave of other regions and ordinary citizens offered to help many citizens saying ‘I can offer a place to stay … Where can I bring my shovel and bucket?’” he told n-tv Associated Press writers Geir Moulson and Emily Schultheis in Berlin Angela Charlton in Paris and Mike Corder in The Hague © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins the current floods in Germany constitute the worst flooding catastrophe since the storm flood along the North Sea coast in 1962 with at least 156 in Germany and 31 in Belgium Thousands of people remain unaccounted for People around the world are horrified by the devastation wrought by the floods Drone video and before-and-after pictures reveal the extent of the destruction The high waters had an especially horrific impact in the Eifel region Villages along normally small rivers like the Ahr Entire roads were consumed by the water and partially washed away sections of railways and bridges were rendered impassible Hundreds of thousands of people temporarily lost power after several distribution plants were flooded the mobile phone networks and drinking water were interrupted for a time The most dramatic consequence of the floods including at least 28 in the community of Schuld (660 residents) and the small city of Sinzig (17,642 residents) It is difficult to find words to describe the fates of the individuals Among the deaths in Sinzig were 12 residents of a home for disabled people Similarly dramatic scenes are now threatening to be repeated in parts of Bavaria the heavy rain has shifted to the southeast the inner cities of Passau and Beerchtesgaden were flooded villages including Bad Schandau and Krippen The flood disaster exposes in numerous ways the bankruptcy of capitalism and its political representatives it is the direct product of the climate crisis produced by the capitalist profit system which is leading to ever more extreme weather events climate models predicted that extreme precipitation would occur more often while days with light rain would be less frequent,” commented Stefan Rahnstorf professor at the Potsdam Institute for Research into the Consequences of Climate Change “the air [can] absorb 7 percent more water vapour and then rain it down.” The consequences of climate change fuel events like the current flood disaster and ultimately threaten the very survival of the planet and all of humanity These consequences have been understood for a long time the ruling class is incapable of and unwilling to adopt serious climate protection measures because this would undermine its economic and geostrategic interests The regular agreements and treaties on climate change are not worth the paper they are written on the deadly effects of climate change are the product of decades of underfunding and cuts to infrastructure a working early warning system and a disaster prevention system International experts have pointed out that the high death toll is directly bound up with inadequacies in these areas we should not experience this number of fatalities from floods This is just unacceptable,” stated Hannah Cloke professor of hydrology at the University of Reading in the UK The professor told the ZDF television channel about problems with early warning systems it was possible to see what was coming,” she said All the necessary warnings were issued by the weather services,” commented Cloke who was involved in the construction of the European flood alert system EFAS “But this chain of warnings broke down somewhere so that they never reached the people.” This account is confirmed by reports from flood victims given to the WSWS A resident in Ahrweiler explained that he and his family were only warned about flooding in the local area two hours ahead of time The sandbags they then received were not filled the family no longer had any time to locate sand the cellar and lower parts of the house were totally flooded It is “incredibly frustrating,” continued Cloke there is “no unified nationwide approach to flood risks,” even though “different flood plans for various scenarios” are needed “local authorities often don’t have the resources necessary to prepare appropriately.” numerous municipalities are bankrupt due to the debt brake in Germany’s Basic Law Deep cuts were made to budgets for disaster protection over recent years This applies to the building of emergency hospitals the training and provision of equipment for tens of thousands of volunteer civil protection forces and the maintenance of national stores of equipment and medical supplies The network of warning sirens was also largely dismantled The Federal Office for Population Protection and Disaster Assistance which is part of the Federal Interior Ministry has only 344 employees and a pathetic annual budget of less than €250 million Necessary spending for flood protection was not undertaken “The implementation of flood-related measures” was “restricted due to a lack of allocated financial resources,” notes a report from the European Accounting Agency from 2018 on the implementation of the European Flood Guidelines Member states are often “not in a position” to “calculate the impact of climate change on the extent and location of the appearance of floods.” The same politicians who now shed crocodile tears in the disaster zones and incessantly pledge “rapid and unbureaucratic emergency help” are responsible for this situation they have provided the banks and corporations with hundreds of billions of euros with no strings attached and repeatedly increased military spending they have carried out spending cuts that have plunged millions of workers and their families into poverty The ruling class exploited the pandemic to intensify its policy of redistribution from the bottom to the top Within the framework of the so-called coronavirus emergency bailout all parties in the German federal parliament supported the pumping of billions of euros into the major corporations and banks All parties in government are allowing the virus to spread so as to guarantee the profits of the financial oligarchy while rejecting all scientific measures to protect the population The result is over 4 million dead around the world including more than 1 million in Europe and over 91,000 in Germany The same indifference to human life and the wellbeing of the population is being repeated in the current flood disaster The joking and laughter captured on video in one of the disaster zones by North-Rhine Westphalia’s Minister President and Christian Democratic candidate for Chancellor are merely the most disgusting examples of this workers and young people will begin to draw far-reaching lessons from these experiences The struggle against climate change—like the struggle against the pandemic and the danger of fascism and war—is a political one It requires the revolutionary mobilisation of the working class against capitalism The working population around the world bears the chief burden of the consequences of global warming it is being forced into struggle and is objectively defining itself as an international class whose elementary interests are irreconcilable with the capitalists’ private ownership of the means of production “No social problem can be resolved without expropriating the banks and corporations and placing them under the democratic control of the working class,” states the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei’s election statement “Their profits and wealth must be confiscated and the billions they received last year returned to the public purse The world economy must be reorganised on the basis of a scientific and rational plan.” This is the decisive lesson of the past few days Only the socialist reorganisation of society can secure victory for the struggle against climate change Please help us improve PreventionWeb by taking this brief survey Your input will allow us to better serve the needs of the DRR community See the survey A tragic story emerged during the floods that hit Europe in July 2021: given no warning to evacuate, 12 people with disabilities drowned when flash floods hit their residential home in the German town of Sinzig This was not the first time people with disabilities have been left behind when disaster strikes people with disabilities have too often been excluded from disaster risk reduction (DRR) early warning systems and evacuation planning and have faced compounding risks and barriers while displaced from their homes The absence of inclusive emergency planning in some settings has meant local residents have been left to support people with disabilities and ensure they reach safety. In the Greek village of Pefki, young people carried people with disabilities over the sand onto a ferry when the island was ravaged by wildfires in August the challenges they face must not be ignored the limited data collected following disasters and the scarcity of data disaggregated by disability status make it difficult to determine exactly how many people with disabilities are displaced by disasters and the diversity of their needs to inform targeted planning and evaluate the inclusivity of responses and improve their access to services in emergency situations mapping people with disabilities and their assistance needs before a disaster and other emergency services are fully accessible more needs to be done for preparedness and responses to be fully inclusive The European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) serves as a platform through which governments and other stakeholders can make actionable commitments to address regional disaster challenges and reduce disaster risk The next forum is scheduled to take place in November this year It will result in the adoption of the 2022-2030 EFDRR roadmap which will form the basis of coordinated implementation of the Sendai Framework and related SDG targets The impacts of climate change and people’s growing exposure and vulnerability to hazards are expected to increase the risk of displacement due to slow- and sudden-onset disasters in the years to come Collecting better data on people with a range of disabilities before during and after displacement can enhance preparedness and strengthen responses and recovery Ensuring people with disabilities are at the forefront of designing and evaluating climate adaptation strategies and DRR measures is also key to addressing displacement-related risks and charting the way towards a more resilient and inclusive future Louisa Yasukawa is a Research Associate at the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre Please note: Content is displayed as last posted by a PreventionWeb community member or editor. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of UNDRR, PreventionWeb, or its sponsors. See our terms of use Thank you. If you have 2 minutes, we would benefit from additional feedback (link opens in a new window) PreventionWeb is the global knowledge sharing platform for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience The scars are still visible a year on in valley which suffered more than half the deaths from the flooding disaster that hit Europe on 14 and 15 July 2021 The dramatic floods of 14 and 15 July 2021 killed more than 220 people in Europe, leaving a trail of destruction in Germany and Belgium Western Germany was worst-hit by the flooding The state of Rhineland-Palatinate registered 49 deaths while North Rhine-Westphalia said 135 were killed The total cost of the damage in Germany is estimated to be more than €30bn (£25bn) residents are still waiting for the return of normal life a year after the devastation of deadly flash flooding View image in fullscreenDebris from last year’s floods still lies on a destroyed railway line in the village of Dernau in the Ahr valley Photograph: Michael Probst/APAbout 18,000 inhabitants were affected by the disaster in this once picturesque town in western Germany known for its thermal baths The anniversary of the night of 14 July will be marked on Thursday with a visit by the German chancellor will be able to show Scholz roads cleared of the muck and debris strewn by the floodwaters that submerged Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Photographs: Christof Stache and Ina Fassbender / AFP / GettyBut a return to the way things were “will still take time” with rebuilding very much a work in progress temporary roads that make life possible,” he says View image in fullscreenA damaged clock from last year’s floods hangs on a wall in the village of Schuld in July 2022 Photograph: Michael Probst/APNone of the 18 bridges that used to cross the Ahr river is functional yet with three temporary crossings installed in their place from the collapsed banks by the roadside to the high-water mark on many of the buildings While officials may want to rebuild things as quickly as possible they are also under pressure to make sure residents are protected from future floods “we are still living in the same dangerous situation as a year ago” This puts residents in a state of anxiety any time bad weather is forecast Photographs: Christof Stache and Ina Fassbender / AFP / GettyIn Germany The majority of the fatalities were in the Ahr valley which winds along 25 miles (40km) to where the river joins the Rhine to the south of Bonn View image in fullscreenA flood damaged bicycle path that goes through a tunnel near the village of Laach in July 2022 Photograph: Michael Probst/APOrthen is dismayed that protective measures to keep residents safe from future floods are subject to interminable bureaucratic discussions the houses that have been destroyed are not permitted to be rebuilt while those that were damaged can be repaired a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler Photographs: Christof Stache and Ina Fassbender / AFP / GettyMoreover town officials face a mountain of paperwork with Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler expected to submit 1,400 requests for reconstruction projects by the end of June 2023.“We won’t be able to,” Orthen says After a year of living in a “state of emergency” the mayor sees “disenchantment” and a “feeling of powerlessness” growing among his residents More than 2,000 people have left the town in the last year View image in fullscreenA flood damaged bridge over the Ahr river at the village of Rech in July 2022 Photograph: Michael Probst/APIn Rhineland-Palatinate only €500m in aid have been handed out of the total €15bn set aside The slow progress is an “affront to those affected” according to conservative state legislator Horst Gies In the neighbouring state of North Rhine-Westphalia €1.6bn in government support has been approved for use Photograph: Ina Fassbender / AFP / GettyIn the town of Sinzig about 9.3 miles from Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler candles have been lit in front of a former care home is still looking for a location to open a new facility “Our discussions with the mayor’s office and the local administration still haven’t produced anything,” says Ulrich van Bebber Frustration is building among those trying to rebuild their lives as promised help is slow to arrive “We want to exist in the eyes of Germany,” says Iris Münn-Buschow The ground floor of her home is still in the middle of repair works “Nobody has forgotten the Ahr valley and the other regions,” the minister president of Rhineland-Palatinate state, Malu Dreyer, said recently, stressing the extent of the work still left to do. Roughly 32,000 liters of diesel slosh around in the tanks behind the driver's cabin donated by 17 oil traders from Limburg and the surrounding area They've put the word out on Facebook that they want to distribute it free of charge to everyone in the flooded area who is operating excavators and tractors to trucks and buses that operate emergency power generators and pumps.  When they opened their improvised fueling station in a parking lot in Remagen not far from Sinzig Rasim Cervidaku is one of the first "customers" to roll up with his wheel loader and three empty barrels The landscape gardener from Sinzig has been working almost non-stop with his work tool since the flood disaster a week ago because his house and business were located on higher ground and were not affected it was very clear to him and his family that they want to support the flood victims with all they have His son is taking part in the clean-up work with the company's own excavator "The greatest help is provided by the local people," observed the Berlin disaster researcher Martin Voss from those who are not yet so affected so that they can still do something: They lend a hand." Solidarity is the slogan of the hour in the flooded areas as too is the effort put into going beyond the state or organizations to get involved who otherwise perceive people as selfish and competitive are amazed at the huge wave of helpfulness research has shown for decades that people in disaster situations genuinely show solidarity "At the moment when people get into this kind of emergency,  the primary behavior clearly becomes being their for another." It doesn't always have to go as far as Hubert Schilles did The man in his mid-sixties from an hour west in the Eifel region had unblocked the drain of a dam with his 30 ton excavator He saved more than 10,000 people directly affected by a possible dam breach The strong man sits at the wheel of his heavy excavator in Sinzig The gripper arms first lift a Mercedes limousine that has been totaled to the side Then they reach into the mud again and a mound of garbage piled meters high on the side of the road and heave the debris into a waiting truck Steiner had driven his excavator onto his low-loader nearly 300 kilometers north of here to help, at his own expense Steiner only replies: "Look around: the people here are much worse off than me." Then Steiner wants to help out in Sinzig for a few more days "The doers are the real heroes in this situation," says disaster researcher "Those who get started right away and get things done And the best are also those who coordinate and divide up the tasks The Bremen-based disaster researcher emphasizes how much the normal competitive mechanisms in society are overridden in a disaster situation "Here the people are stripped of everything The man in his late twenties drives up to the free refueling campaign in the town of Remagen in an old private fire truck Diron deals with these types of vintage vehicles up the road in Bonn The all-wheel drive vehicles are popular as motorhomes with people who want to travel to remote mountain regions off the beaten path Now Diron's home region in the Ahr Valley has been affected by the floods and the old fire engines are suddenly back on a rescue mission The classic car dealer had already been carrying out rescue operations on the night of the disaster "My mother-in-law called me at 3.30 a.m.," he says He now sets out every afternoon at around 5 p.m with a group of fellow volunteers for what he calls "after-work help." Brooms rubber boats and whatever else is needed in the crisis area, plus plenty of motivation "We have already finished 12 houses," says Diron. And notes that his old fire engines could also cope with roads in which the more modern trucks fromthe technical relief organization, THW Which is why he wants to drive his "after-work help" crew with an emergency power generator and water pump to particularly isolated villages this afternoon Public buses have also started shuttling up to 1,000 volunteers to the area every day starting at 7 a.m. Organizer Marc Ulrich from Bad-Neuenahr-Ahrweiler which was badly affected, quickly realized after the disaster that many people want to help To avoid traffic chaos that could prevent rescue and evacuation vehicles from getting through he launched a plan to use shuttle buses and put the word out on Facebook.  the volunteers are briefed on the situation "Do not go into empty houses uninvited," is one of the guidelines or "Listen to people when they want to talk But don't start a conversation with them." Ulrich worries how long people will be so willing to help and other issues will soon displace this disaster Dombrowsky also expects private aid operations to decline "The people who go there and help mostly have jobs And this wonderful feeling of being a much needed hero and being enormously useful will reach a saturation point that I have to go back to work or my family needs me too At that point, at least, the professional aid effort has to step up "But then even the worst is over and spontaneous help is no longer necessary." That's when the reconstruction phase begins MARIE — Millions of Americans watched the U.S Marie resident with professional soccer experience in both countries Lake Superior State Associate Professor Ralf Wilhelms was born in Sinzig West Germany and had an international soccer career which included playing professionally in Germany has made it to the knockout stage in consecutive World Cups While admitting he still cheers for Germany effort to get through the “Group of death.” but give credit where it is due," Wilhelms said "They advanced out of one of the toughest groups Germany is among the better teams in the world and they had less pressure in this match has a tremendous opportunity," Wilhelms said Wilhelms also coached and managed pro soccer in the U.S He played for the San Diego Sockers and Arizona Sandsharks in the 1980s Wilhelms played on two championship teams with the Sockers and was a coach and later Executive Vice President of the team Wilhelms advanced to the next stage of his career as he and his family moved to the area five years ago when he took a position as a professor at LSSU He teaches in the LSSU Lukenda International School of Business Ralf and Yolanda Wilhelms’ sons Istvan and Diego and daughters Katja and Kayla are all soccer players while Katja and Kayla play in the Sault Soccer Association U-16 division All four of the Wilhelms kids have worked as referees in the Sault Soccer Association I think it is a very under-rated place to live." Ralf has little involvement in national soccer now but has helped share his knowledge of the sport in the Sault area is a consultant for the Sault United Football Academy in Sault and conducts coaching clinics for the Sault is getting recognition on TV and in the media right now because of the World Cup," Wilhelms said "That will continue to build now that they've advanced "Talk to kids in the Sault Soccer Association and they will know the names of most of the players," Wilhelms said "There are four millions kids playing soccer in this country team has a chance to be a catalyst for even more growth of soccer." team has benefitted from a German influence World Cup team players were born in Germany Sign In Subscribe Now Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines The picture-perfect vineyards cling to the slopes on the hillsides while the Ahr river snakes in tight loops through the deep valley below A fascinating display of colours plays out here every year – in the winter the posts stand out against the bare vineyards exposing the slate and sandstone soil that give the wines of the Ahr region their particular flavour followed by the green leaves of the vines in the summer And then autumn brings a culmination of colour yellowy green and all the colours in between The vines are bent low under the weight of the grapes – it is a real treat for all ages View of the vineyards near Mayschoss in the Saffenburger Ländchen And who would suspect that this natural idyll conceals a secret that was closely guarded for decades The locals were aware of the existence of the place you could not keep a project of this magnitude secret for long The drilling and explosions rocked the surrounding area while countless lorry-loads of concrete and materials were transported to the vineyards on a daily basis Rumours about the project soon began to fly with speculation rife as to what was being built in the soft What was the government planning with this mysterious project you and the whole family can explore this former secret starting at the entrance in a section of woodland on the hills above the town of Ahrweiler glass and steel structure leads you deep into the earth providing the huge gates weighing nearly 25 tons even let you through in the first place They open up into windowless stairwells leading deep down underground Time seems to stand still in the labyrinth of artificially lit corridors medical equipment that was never used and all sorts of switchboards and monitoring devices Exciting family tour in the Government Bunker Documentation Centre The former control centre of the underground government bunker and today's documentation site It is the most expensive building in the Federal Republic, the ‘alternative seat of the federal organs of government in the event of a crisis or defence scenario’, now known more simply as the government bunker the West German government built a massive bunker complex in order to protect the most important decision-makers in the event of an atomic blast There were more than 936 bedrooms and 897 offices here across nearly 88,000 square metres Nearly 3,000 people could have survived in the government bunker for up to 30 days The proximity to the then German capital of Bonn and the fact that there were two almost complete railway tunnels under the mountain swayed the final decision in the region’s favour The bunker was completed between 1960 and 1971 decommissioned in the 90s and stripped down between 2001 and 2006 A section of the original underground labyrinth extending some 203 metres was left in its original condition as a museum and a visit now is like a trip back in time There are even cats’ paw prints on clay tiles where the pesky animal must have stepped on them before they were set Maybe you can reveal more of the truth behind the story Hiking with the whole family at the Saffenburg near Mayschoss Martin Seidler’s wonderful pictures transport you to the fascinating Ahr valley The region’s down-to-earth people are redesigning their home area even the winemakers are doing something a little special after the floods affecting the 2021 vintage The Ahr valley is famous for its powerful red wines fruity notes born of the steep sunny slopes the unique microclimate and the slate soils that absorb heat for the vines The Red Wine Trail and the Ahrsteig Hiking Trail both offer unique wine-related experiences award-winning wines and local cuisine adding up to a feast for all the senses (Al Jazeera) Emergency workers in western Germany and Belgium rushed to rescue hundreds of people in danger or still unaccounted for as the death toll from devastating floods rose to more than 150 people on Saturday Authorities in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate said that more than 90 people died there including 12 residents of an assisted-living facility for disabled people in the town of Sinzig who were surprised by a sudden rush of water from the nearby Ahr River state officials put the death toll at 43 but warned the figure could increase German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was “stunned” by the devastation caused by the flooding and pledged support for the families of those killed as well as cities and towns facing significant damage Read more A reliable source of news, entertainment and public discourse from St Kitts and Nevis. OPEN IN NEW WINDOW Email: info@winnmediaskn.com or sales@winnmediaskn.com Local Call In Numbers: 466- 0989 l 662-0989 l 762-0989 UK Call In Number: 033-344-0065: U.S.A Call In Number: 718-285-6984 Canada Call In Number: 305-921-4619 Office Number: 869-466-9586: Sinzig based Wunderlich GmbH has been rolling out eye catching aftermarket equipment and accessories for BMW motorcycles for the last 25 years From their first hands-on customization on the BMW R100GS in 1991 at IFMA in Cologne the Beemer centric custom house has revealed another smashing concept based on the BMW R1200GS LC Say hello to the Wunderlich Hybrid BMW R1200GS LC- a hybrid motorcycle with a two wheel drive feature A hybrid drive train has been mated to the twin pod boxer engine in collaboration with Evolt Italy The hybrid system is basically an electric motor attached to the front wheel with a 10 kW hub motor that generates enough power to chug the burly R1200GS at 20 kph on its own and also if the need be reverse the motorcycle when parked on a slope The electric motor also features a regenerative braking system that charges a small battery pack located under the front beak Though the figures might not be breaking any new grounds in terms of performance but a front wheel drive comes with its own set of advantages particularly while venturing onto loose and broken trail Yamaha’s 2-trac system is enough testimony to an assisted front wheel drive feature Also what might seem novelty to some can actually be a great idea to be implemented on your regular everyday motorcycle- only if economies of scale could bring the cost of a hybrid system to acceptable levels A more rideable motorcycle in today’s crowding streets along with the benefits of lower emissions and fuel costs would definitely be an added plus A few visual delights…for your eyes only Via: Asphalt&Rubber The sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro has finally arrived in Switzerland Corvette Sportcar Center AG from Bonstetten has delivered one of the first cars to a big Chevy fan: Martin Sinzig the author of the biography about Louis Chevrolet owner of Corvette Sportcar Center AG: "It gives me immense pleasure to give the Chevy man of Switzerland [...] owner of Corvette Sportcar Center AG: "It gives me immense pleasure to be able to deliver my first Camaro Six and thus one of the first cars ever in Switzerland to the Chevy man of Switzerland The sixth generation of the muscle car is leaner has perfect aerodynamics as well as uncompromising performance with minimal fuel consumption." Bullish engine and precise 6-speed manual transmission Martin Sinzig has been eagerly awaiting the Camaro Six for over a year But the 53-year-old business journalist from Berg in eastern Switzerland is interested in more: Since 2007 he has been intensively studying the life of Swiss emigrant Louis Chevrolet The connoisseur published his biography in 2011 Martin Sinzig: "The fact that I can now buy a sports car from this brand with Swiss roots is something very special for me and a tribute to the namesake and his descendants." more powerful than ever before" can only be confirmed by the new Camaro driver: "The powerful engine the precise 6-speed manual transmission and the chassis are incredibly fun he has also already familiarized himself with the satellite-based OnStar service: "The remote diagnostics via smartphone are particularly practical for example querying tire pressure or fuel range." www.corvettecenter.ch www.chevroletbuch.ch Photo: Hans M the special show Louis Christen Racing provides an insight into the designs that the man from Rheineck has created over the past 45 years The spectrum ranges from motorcycles and sidecar teams to formula racing cars the former racing driver had also been involved in various innovative electric mobility projects In 1973 Christen (top center gallery) founded the company LCR (Louis Christen Racing) sidecars and formula racing cars as well as prototypes such as the battery-powered Stromboli (bottom left gallery) or ultra-fast dragsters were built More than 40 world championship titles as well as countless victories of renowned racing drivers became possible with LCR constructions representing the Swiss Auto Sport Association paid tribute to Louis Christen's achievements as well as those of seven-time sidecar world champion Rolf Biland and sidecar and truck racer Markus Bösiger both of whom had worked with the East Swiss constructor This was accompanied by their induction into the Wall of Fame autobau.ch