Government - Survey: Dissatisfaction with government over flood disaster
Three years after the flood disaster in the Ahr and Eifel region, the majority of people in the area are dissatisfied with the crisis management of the Rhineland-Palatinate state government. According to a representative survey by the opinion research institute Infratest Dimap on behalf of SWR, 71 percent of those surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with the crisis management of the state government in the aftermath of the flood disaster, while only one fifth (20 percent) had a positive opinion.
Not only the crisis management of the government was criticized by the residents of the affected districts, according to the survey. Problems were also reported in the rebuilding process in the districts of Ahrweiler, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Bitburg-Prüm, Vulkaneifel, Trier-Saarburg, and in the city of Trier. In the particularly hard-hit district of Ahrweiler, 72 percent of those surveyed said that the state government was not fulfilling its responsibility for the rebuilding process. Of all those surveyed, 65 percent held this view. Only 28 percent had a positive opinion of the rebuilding process.
During the floods in mid-July 2021, 136 people had lost their lives in Rhineland-Palatinate, 135 of them in the Ahr region and one in the Trier area. One person is still missing. In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia, 49 people died as a result of the heavy rain. Thousands of houses were destroyed, roads and bridges were washed away. Schools and kindergartens were also affected.
The events left deep traces with the people, as shown in the survey. 71 percent of those affected reported that they had found the situation after the flood disaster to be personally challenging. In the Ahrweiler district, almost all those surveyed (93 percent) reported that they had been affected by the situation. However, only a total of ten percent of them (nine percent in the Ahrweiler district) had sought psychological help. A large portion (30 percent) saw no need for it.
- Despite the criticisms, the Rhineland-Palatinate government continues to oversee the recovery efforts in the Ahr Valley, a region heavily impacted by the flood disaster.
- The SWR news station, based in Mainz, has been closely following the crisis management and rebuilding process in the Eifel and Ahr regions.
- The dissatisfaction with the government's handling of the crisis has extended to the rebuilding process in various districts, including Ahrweiler, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Bitburg-Prüm, Vulkaneifel, and Trier-Saarburg.
- Ahrweiler, a district particularly ravaged by the flood disaster, saw 72% of its residents expressing discontent with the government's role in the rebuilding process, according to the Infratest dimap survey.
- The survey also highlighted issues in crisis management and rebuilding in other affected areas, with 65% of respondents holding a negative view of the state government's performance.
- The flood disaster of mid-July 2021 resulted in numerous casualties and devastation across Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, including 135 lives lost in the Ahr region and 1 in Trier.
- The crisis management and rebuilding process have left deep emotional scars on the population, with 71% of those affected reporting personal challenges and only 10% seeking psychological help.
- In the wake of this disaster, effective crisis management and inclusive rebuilding efforts will be crucial for restoring community stability and resilience in Rhineland-Palatinate and the Ahr Valley.
