AP PHOTOS: Scars remain in German region year after floods
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Half-destroyed bridges. Train tracks that end in the middle of nowhere. Abandoned ruins in one of the world’s richest countries.
The scars of last year’s deadly floods are still starkly visible in the Ahr valley, a hilly region south of Cologne that suffered more than half the deaths recorded in the disaster across Germany and neighboring Belgium and the Netherlands.
Official figures show 134 people died in the night from July 14-15, 2021, when heavy rains turned swollen streams into raging torrents that burst their banks and swept away cars, roads and houses. The total death toll across the three countries was at least 239.
Experts say such extreme weather events are becoming more likely because of climate change. That’s because warmer air can store more water, leading to bigger cloudbursts when it's released.
German authorities agreed to provide 30 billion euros ($30 billion) to help rebuild regions hit by the floods, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in the country’s history.
For many in the Ahr valley, the pain runs deeper than the loss of a home or business, however. Friends, family members and colleagues are still mourned.
The oldest victim was 97; the youngest was 4. Most of those killed were over 60, but three children, 12 residents of an assisted living facility and a volunteer firefighter were also among the dead. More than 750 people were injured. At least two suicides have been recorded in connection with the floods.
Prosecutors are still investigating whether officials made mistakes in their response to the disaster. Survivors said they received little notice from authorities that waters would rise so dramatically, even though meteorologists had warned of possible flooding for days.
Scientists say the floods of 2021 highlight how no region of the world is safe from the impacts of climate change.
Such warnings have some in the Ahr valley wondering whether disasters that were once thought to strike only every century could happen again soon. And whether it’s better to rebuild that broken bridge and clean those mud-caked belongings — or simply move away.
German leaders including Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier are scheduled to attend a memorial event in the region’s main town, Ahrweiler, on Thursday.
___
Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP's coverage of climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/climate