Scholz inspects flood area in Saxony-Anhalt
It is his second visit to the town since the floods: this time the Chancellor is wearing wellies instead of low shoes. Scholz wants to get an overview of the situation in Sangerhausen. The all-clear is not yet in sight in the areas affected by the floods.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has arrived in the flood area in southern Saxony-Anhalt. Together with Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and Minister President Reiner Haseloff, he took stock of the situation in Oberröblingen, a district of Sangerhausen. The Chancellor received an unfriendly reception from some people. "Criminals", "Your policies are based on lies" and "Go right back" were the words of a group of around ten people.
Scholz, this time wearing wellies instead of hiking boots, had previously gained an overview from a helicopter. This is Scholz's second on-site visit during the current flood situation. On New Year's Eve, he visited Verden on the Aller in Lower Saxony to find out about the situation there. Scholz, Lemke and Haseloff inspected the dyke at the Helme bridge in the morning. The Helme, which flows through Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, drains the southern part of the Lower Harz.
The district of Mansfeld-Südharz, to which Sangerhausen belongs, had declared a state of emergency at the end of the year. From Monday, around 150 Bundeswehr soldiers are to support the operation on site and help with filling sandbags and defending the dyke. In the Kyffhäuserkreis district in the north of Thuringia, also located in the southern Harz foreland, an already opened dyke is to be deepened further this Thursday in order to prevent flooding of villages in the face of rising water levels.
Softened dykes still holding
Despite the continuous rain, the dykes in the flood areas have so far withstood the masses of water. However, the situation remains tense in many places due to rising water levels. It has rained again in large parts of Germany over the past few days, causing the already high river levels to rise further in some places. By Friday evening, the affected areas in the northwest and west as well as Franconia will see further rainfall in relevant quantities, as ntv meteorologist Björn Alexander explains. The forecast for Lower Saxony is 10 to 15 liters per square meter. For the western congested areas in the Harz up to 40 liters. Between 20 and 40 liters per square meter are also expected for the west and southwest as well as along the low mountain ranges. A drop in water levels is therefore only likely towards Saturday.
The situation remains critical, especially in Lower Saxony. However, according to the fire department, an endangered dyke on the Hunte in Sandkrug in the district of Oldenburg, which has been secured with sandbags, is currently stable. However, the dyke is now under permanent video surveillance due to the large number of onlookers. Meanwhile, the Flotwedel fire department in the district of Celle reported the theft of an emergency power generator that was supplying several pumps for pumping out water. The emergency services were "shocked".
In view of the flood damage, Lower Saxony's Minister President Stephan Weil reiterated that the state would "help very quickly" in acute emergencies. He did not name a sum on Norddeutscher Rundfunk radio on Wednesday evening. The situation in other federal states also remains tense 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.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
Despite the ongoing rain, the flood dykes in Saxony-Anhalt, including the one in Sangerhausen, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently visited, have managed to hold against the surging water masses. However, the situation remains precarious, with rising water levels being a concern in multiple areas.
Source: www.ntv.de
