Dikes withstand water masses so far - Scholz holds out the prospect of help

Together with Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) and Saxony-Anhalt Minister President Reiner Haseloff (CDU), the Chancellor visited the district of Mansfeld-Südharz to get an idea of the flood situation. In Oberröblingen, a district of Sangerhausen, they inspected a dyke on the Helme bridge that is threatening to break. They also visited a sandbag filling facility.

Scholz called the commitment of many helpers from numerous federal states a "great sign of solidarity". "I believe this shows that we can stand together in Germany," he said afterwards. This spirit of solidarity will also apply afterwards. It was his second visit to a flooded area. Scholz had already visited Lower Saxony on New Year's Eve.

The district of Mansfeld-Südharz had declared a state of emergency at the end of the year. Schools in several towns along the Helme remained closed on Thursday and Friday. From Monday, around 150 Bundeswehr soldiers are to support the operation on site and help with filling sandbags and defending the dykes.

Haseloff spoke of an "exceptional event that requires special solidarity". We need to talk about "how we deal with such disasters in the long term", said the Minister President. This will also be a topic at the next Conference of Minister Presidents. Lemke also emphasized that the federal and state governments must agree on how Germany can be better prepared for such events in the medium and long term.

It has rained again in large parts of Germany in recent days, causing the levels of the already swollen rivers to rise further in some cases. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), the flood situation remains "particularly tense in the center and northwest". The very wet weather phase will continue for the time being, "we are still literally surrounded by lows", explained DWD expert Marco Manitta. From Sunday, an area of high pressure should then bring increasingly colder and drier air masses to Germany.

However, the all-clear is not yet in sight and the situation remains critical, especially in Lower Saxony. Emergency services are working to secure the softened dykes with sandbags and mobile dyke systems. In view of the flood damage, Lower Saxony's Minister President Stephan Weil (SPD) reiterated that the state would "help very quickly" in acute emergencies. He did not name a sum on Norddeutscher Rundfunk radio on Wednesday evening.

According to the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation, numerous water levels were still above the highest reporting level on Thursday, particularly in the catchment areas of the Aller, Leine, Oker, Hase and Hunte rivers. Further rain was expected from Friday night until Saturday.

The situation also remains tense in other federal states for the time being. The State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection in North Rhine-Westphalia reported rising water levels in parts of the Weser and Rhine. In Thuringia, the levels of the upper Werra, Ilm and upper Saale also rose after the continuous rain in the Thuringian Forest.

In the Kyffhäuserkreis district in the north of Thuringia, also located in the southern Harz foreland, an already open dyke is to be deepened further on Thursday to prevent flooding of villages in view of the rising water levels.

In Saxony, the Elbe level continues to rise. The flood peak was expected in Dresden on Sunday night and in Riesa on Sunday.