Fire department: Residents steal sandbags from dikes
Emergency services report discussions and theft by residents in flooded areas. There are also reports of insults and envy. In total, thousands of firefighters are working throughout the country to combat the rising water levels.
During the ongoing flood operations, fire departments are complaining about the theft of sandbags. "Sandbags that have been installed on dykes are being taken away by residents because they don't have the sandbags themselves to protect their homes," said the President of the German Fire Service Association, Karl-Heinz Banse, in Berlin.
He spoke of many problems during the operations. "There are insults, there are discussions with those affected, why do they start pumping out the water in street A first and not in street B? Why does my neighbor have the fire department in the basement before I do," said Banse. "There are lots and lots of arguments."
The fire department also had to contend with a lot of onlookers. According to Banse, thousands of firefighters have been working in various parts of Germany since Christmas Eve. "We have a flood situation the likes of which we haven't seen for many years."
More rain expected
The flood situation in Germany is now manageable in many places, but it is still too early to give the all-clear. A look at the weather forecast shows that the rainfall will only take a short break. A lot of rain is expected in Germany again at the weekend.
In Braunschweig, a mobile dyke is to protect against an approaching flood, as ntv reporter Sarina Sprengelmeyer reports. The Pretzien weir has been raised to protect Magdeburg and the surrounding communities from flooding by the Elbe. This is the first time in ten years that the important flood protection system has been used again.
The Pretzien weir was built in 1875. It consists of 324 so-called sluice gates, each weighing 100 kilograms, which can be opened as required: This ensures that around a third of the Elbe water is diverted into a 21-kilometer-long canal around Magdeburg and Schönebeck before it flows back into the river. The weir has been opened a total of 64 times since it was commissioned.
Residents can return to Windehausen
The residents of the village of Windehausen in Thuringia, which was evacuated due to flooding, can now return to their homes. The mayor of Heringen, Matthias Marquardt, said that he had lifted the evacuation order in the morning. The reasons for the evacuation no longer applied now that the power supply and sewage system were working again. The inhabitants of the Heringen district could return - but initially only with shuttle buses, not with their own vehicles.
Windehausen was flooded at Christmas by meltwater from the River Zorge and groundwater that had been pushed upwards. According to the mayor, the water was around 70 centimetres high on the streets on Christmas Day. It has since drained away again. The village had been evacuated, 400 of the 500 inhabitants followed the call for voluntary evacuation.
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Despite the efforts of the fire department, international aid is needed due to the continuous theft of sandbags from dykes. "We're facing a challenge as sandbags intended for protecting the dykes are being stolen by residents, leaving our firefighters without adequate resources," stated a spokesperson for the International Fire Fighters Association.
Additionally, the flood situation in Germany is worsening, with forecasts predicting more heavy rainfall this weekend. "This could be disastrous for areas that haven't fully recovered from the previous floods," warned the spokesperson.
Source: www.ntv.de
