Scholz visits another flood area

Flood - Scholz visits another flood area

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will visit regions in Saxony-Anhalt affected by flooding this Thursday. He had already visited flooded areas in Lower Saxony on New Year's Eve. This time, the Chancellor will be accompanied by Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) and Minister President Reiner Haseloff (CDU).

Together, the politicians want to find out about the flood situation in Oberröblingen, a district of Sangerhausen(from around 11.25 a.m.). An appointment is planned at the dyke at the Helme bridge, which is in danger of collapsing - together with the District Administrator of the Mansfeld-Südharz district, André Schröder (CDU).

This will be followed by a meeting with the incident commander, the emergency services and the mayors of the affected municipalities. Following this, Scholz, Lemke and Haseloff want to travel to a sandbag filling facility in the village of Berga and talk to volunteers. They also want to comment on the situation there.

Disaster declared

Shortly before the turn of the year, a disaster was declared in the Mansfeld-Südharz district. The Helme had burst its banks in places. Several places along the river are currently under threat.

In other federal states too, especially in Lower Saxony, the emergency services have been battling against masses of water for days. Many water gauges in Lower Saxony and parts of Bremen continue to show the highest reporting level. Although it is expected to remain largely dry on Thursday, the situation threatens to worsen in some places after the continuous rain of the past few days. The catchment areas of the Aller, Leine, Oker, Hase and Hunte rivers are affected.

"We are still in an extremely critical situation and we are concentrating fully on combating the floods," said Lower Saxony's Minister President Stephan Weil(SPD) on NDR television on Wednesday evening.

The special thing about the current situation is that there are floods on many rivers and in many places at the same time, said Torsten Schlurmann, head of the Ludwig Franzius Institute for Hydraulic, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering at Leibniz University Hanover, to dpa.

Dykes at the limit of their capacity

The situation has also lasted for days. "We are not seeing a fast-flowing flood wave on the rivers, but that the water is virtually standing still. Due to the prolonged backwater, there is now a risk that the dykes will reach their limits," said Schlurmann.

The water is also affecting agriculture. According to the farmers' association, almost every farmer in Lower Saxony is currently affected by flooding in their fields or by water damage.

Flood aid for Lower Saxony is also coming from abroad: a team from the French civil defense wants to erect a mobile dyke near Winsen an der Aller on Thursday. Lower Saxony's Minister of the Interior, Daniela Behrens, wants to see the construction for herself on site.

Read also:

• Floods: water levels remain critical in many places
• Snow chaos further restricts Bavaria
• Continuous operation in the flood areas
• Flood situation remains tense in many places

1. The flood situation in Oberröblingen, a district of Sangerhausen in Saxony-Anhalt, has prompted a visit from Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
2. Steffi Lemke (Greens), the Federal Environment Minister, and Reiner Haseloff (CDU), the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, will join Scholz during his visit.
3. André Schröder (CDU), the District Administrator of the Mansfeld-Südharz district, will also be present during the visit to the Helme bridge.
4. The politicians aim to discuss the flood situation in Oberröblingen, where the Helme bridge is at risk of collapsing.
5. After the meeting at the Helme bridge, Scholz, Lemke, and Haseloff will visit a sandbag filling facility in Berga.
6. They hope to speak with volunteers who are helping to fill sandbags to combat the floods in the area.
7. In Lower Saxony, where flooding has also been a severe issue, minister president Stephan Weil (SPD) has emphasized the critical nature of the situation.
8. The situation in Lower Saxony is particularly dire in the catchment areas of the Aller, Leine, Oker, Hase, and Hunte rivers.
9. International aid has also been provided to Lower Saxony, with a team from the French civil defense constructing a mobile dyke near Winsen an der Aller.
10. Despite the continued efforts of emergency services, the flood situation remains tense in many places across Germany, requiring continued vigilance and support from both the federal government and local communities.

Source: www.stern.de