Flood disaster in Germany: massive damage and growing anger

In recent days, southern Germany, Saxony and Berlin have seen more rain and flooding. Heavy floods were also recorded in Belgium, and the town of Dinant, near Namur, was particularly affected.

Destroyed cars and piles of rubble at the entrance to Walporzheim (Credit: WSWS)

In the parts of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia most affected by last week's floods, residents continue to deal with the large number of deaths, injuries and immense damage caused to homes, businesses, shops, restaurants. , hotels, roads and bridges. and the entire infrastructure system.

More than 131 people lost their lives in the Ahr Valley of Rhineland-Palatinate. The dead drowned in their houses and apartments or were swept away by bodies of water. The normally calm Ahr River turned into a raging torrent, rising in some places eight meters (26 feet) in just a few hours. More than 149 people are still missing.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, authorities have confirmed 47 deaths from the storm. Houses, roads and basic infrastructure were also destroyed here. Belgium has suffered at least 36 deaths.

Deutsche Bahn, the German railway company, estimates that damage to tracks, stations and rolling stock in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia totals around € 1.3 billion. According to their figures, 600 kilometers of track, 50 bridges, dozens of stations and stops were affected.

Many areas affected by the floods still lack potable water and electricity. Mobile phone networks continue to be severely disrupted. Damage to regional housing and infrastructure runs into the billions.

The emergency aid promised so far by the federal and state governments, totaling 400 million euros, is nothing more than a drop in the bucket. This amounts to € 1,500 per head of household and € 500 for each additional family member, up to a maximum of € 3,500.

Many of those affected doubt that this help will reach them soon. Based on recent experience, particularly the aftermath of the pandemic, residents fear they will leave empty-handed to figure out how to recover on their own.

Of the approximately 50,000 people living along the Ahr River, more than 40,000 have been affected by the flood. Emergency shelters for the newly homeless are often in dire condition. The mutual aid and solidarity between the residents has been tremendous; State aid, on the other hand, is next to nothing, as the people of Ahrweiler He said a team of reporters from World Socialist website Last Thursday.

As the WSWS explained in previous articles and statements, the disaster is not the result of an unavoidable natural occurrence. The fact that the flood has killed so many people and caused so much devastation is a direct result of the criminal inaction of the federal and state governments over many years.

By the time the deadly torrents swept through residents, the government and authorities had long been warned, but remained inactive, refusing to initiate evacuations and other protective measures. They did not even inform the population about the danger that was coming.

The British sunday time He reported that the first signs of the impending catastrophe had been signaled by satellite nine days before the flood occurred. Then, four days before the flood disaster, the European Flood Warning System (Efas) directly warned the German government. Other warnings, 24 hours before the event, predicted with pinpoint precision which districts would be hit the hardest.

In its current cover story, titled "Helpless: Over 170 Dead - Chronicle of an Avoidable Disaster," [“Defenceless: More than 170 dead—Chronical of an avoidable catastrophe”] the weekly news magazine Mirror explores some aspects of the government's failure to take proper precautions and warn the public.

With regard to the warnings issued by the German Meteorological Service, meteorologists and scientists about severe storms and the attendant danger, Mirror concludes: “So it could have been anticipated. In fact, it should have been anticipated. "

The magazine describes how roads were not closed despite the approaching flood, warning systems were non-existent or not working, authorities underestimated the danger, and existing disaster control structures did not interact.

The Spiegel The report cites several local politicians, including Hubertus Kunz, the mayor of the small town of Mayschoss in the Ahr, who says he couldn't have imagined the water rising that high. When suddenly "a level over five meters was predicted," he said he thought, "They're crazy, that can't be correct." At least one in four of the city's residents lost their homes in the flood and at least five people died. "Knowing what we know today, we should have evacuated," Kunz said.

Mirror He also quotes local residents. They confirm that the warnings came too late and that authorities drastically underestimated the impending disaster. Achim Lorenz from the Ahrweiler district reports that the water level was already above 5.70 meters at night, well above previous flood levels.

"All the alarm bells should have been ringing," Lorenz said. But it wasn't until much later, around midnight, that the fire department issued its first loudspeaker warning. They just asked people not to go into the basements and to stay on the upper floors. On this basis, "no one really" believed "that a historic catastrophe was imminent."

For Lorenz, like many others, it is clear that governments and authorities are responsible for the deaths. "There was enough time to warn and save people properly," he said, venting his anger. If "those responsible had acted correctly, probably not so many people would have died."

The Spiegel The authors expressed concern about the growing anger and opposition among the population. Something "has changed in Germany", they point out. It's “the question of how safe people can feel here. If citizens have the impression that the state protects them, if they can trust it when things get dangerous or life threatening. "

During the pandemic it became clear that Germany "is not working as well as it was supposed to." The flood disaster now multiplies "this malaise: it shows how ill-prepared this country is for extreme situations."

Mirror attributes the "problems" to "gaps, omissions, and disputes over competencies between the federal government, the states, and the municipalities," as a result of which "experience is not used." This is nothing more than a distraction and an attempt to hide the real causes. In both the flood and the pandemic, capitalism and its political representatives are responsible for the suffering and destruction.

In the pandemic, all ruling parties deliberately allow the virus to spread and refuse to take the necessary measures to protect the population. His main concern is to secure the profits of the financial oligarchy, which has grown enormously rich in the last year. The consequence is more than 91,000 deaths in Germany and more than four million, at least, worldwide.

The same inhuman disregard for the safety and life of the population was revealed again in the disaster of the floods. Despite decades of warnings from scientists, nothing was done to address climate change. Protection against disasters was bled and investments urged by experts, such as a robust nationwide alert system, were ignored. Instead, billions were given to banks and corporations and used for military weaponry.

The ruling class is rightly concerned. "After the initial shock, workers and youth will begin to draw far-reaching consequences from the experience," said the WSWS write in a recent commentary. "The fight against climate change, like the fight against the pandemic and the danger of fascism and war, is a political question, a question of revolutionary mobilization of the working class against capitalism."

Flood disaster in Germany: massive damage and growing anger

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