Scholz travels to the flood area
For days, thousands of emergency personnel in several regions of Germany have been battling the consequences of heavy rainfall. Now Chancellor Scholz is traveling to the flood area. The weather situation has recently eased slightly. However, meteorologists are expecting more rain over the next few days.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is traveling to the flood area in the north of Lower Saxony. This was announced by the state chancellery of Lower Saxony. The three SPD politicians, Scholz, Lower Saxony's Minister President Stephan Weil and State Interior Minister Daniela Behrens are expected to arrive in Verden near Bremen in the morning.
According to the State Chancellery, a sightseeing flight over the particularly affected areas is planned first. At around 11 a.m., the politicians will then be informed by the state fire director in Verden on the Aller about the flood situation, the protective measures taken and the expected further developments. Afterwards, Scholz, Weil and Behrens will meet with citizens who have been affected by the floods. Afterwards, the Chancellor would like to thank the relief workers, according to the State Chancellery.
For days, thousands of emergency personnel have been battling the consequences of heavy rainfall in several areas of Germany. Parts of Lower Saxony, southern Saxony-Anhalt on the border with Thuringia and areas in North Rhine-Westphalia are particularly affected. The weather situation had recently eased slightly. However, meteorologists are expecting more rain over the next few days.
Helpers fear that the river levels could then rise again. For many volunteer fire departments, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and many other helpers, the floods mean that they will probably have to spend the New Year in action. The authorities have recently been particularly concerned about softened dykes.
Call to refrain from using fireworks
To save the emergency services extra work, several cities in Lower Saxony recommended that fireworks and firecrackers be avoided on New Year's Eve, for example the city of Celle. The emergency services were already working at full capacity with the floods. Environment Minister Christian Meyer from the Green Party also recommended not using fireworks on New Year's Eve in areas affected by flooding. In some cases, firecrackers were also banned, such as in the municipality of Lilienthal in the district of Osterholz near Bremen. The district also feared that many onlookers would be out and about in the flood area on New Year's Eve.
Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Behrens described onlookers and disaster tourists as annoying. "Many are traveling to see the masses of water. They ignore the barriers." There have already been several cases in which the fire department has had to rescue onlookers, said the Interior Minister.
In other parts of Germany, too, the emergency services have their work cut out for them. The flood situation remains critical in several towns on the Helme river on the border between Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. The district of Mansfeld-Südharz declared a state of emergency on Saturday. According to the mayor of the municipality of Südharz, Peter Kohl, collection points were set up in two gymnasiums on Saturday evening as a precautionary measure. Despite the declaration of a state of disaster, nothing has changed in terms of practical work.
On the Elbe near Tangermünde in northern Saxony-Anhalt, the authorities expected the second of four alert levels to be exceeded on Saturday. In Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, the authorities had cautiously spoken of an easing of the situation.
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In response to the floods, Chancellor Scholz's team of assistants is also mobilized to aid the affected regions. During his visit to the flood zone in Lower Saxony, Scholz is expected to meet with relief workers and citizens who have been affected by the flooding.
Given the expected additional rainfall over the coming days, International organizations and aid agencies have been called upon to provide additional assistance to Germany's emergency services, which are already working at full capacity in several regions.
Source: www.ntv.de
