“We tell ourselves that it can happen at any time, we can’t stay here”, a year after the devastating floods, the inhabitants are not recovering from it

“I miss my village, my school, I miss everything“slips 15-year-old Yozina. This blond-haired teenager lives in the Arh Valley, a few kilometers from Bonn, in the town of Bad-Neuenahr (Rhineland-Palatinate). A year ago, on the night of July 14 to 15, 2021, torrential rains fell on this valley, killing 185 people.

Since then, Yozina has been trying to resume a normal life. And this, despite the shock, always present, of the disaster. “There, it became normal. We have class. We have a bus to go to school. I miss my old school. But that’s how it is. And I can’t change things.” It was not until January 2022 that she was able to resume her education: her old school, located at the foot of the river, was completely flooded.

The establishment was rebuilt on the heights: 300 pale green containers now house the college-high school. Containers that bring together classrooms, a library and even a cafeteria. It’s the symbol of the temporary that takes hold. Embert Schiler is the director. “We manage to give students the same education as before, but it’s the context that is different. And I think now our students can learn more than before. This disaster changed their way of seeing things“, he indicates.

The center of Bad-Neuenahr is the other indicator of this difficulty in rebuilding. In this city of 27,500 souls, where the water has risen 7 meters in less than an hour, there is an impression that the heart of the city remains abandoned. Water has flooded everything here. A few businesses reopened just two months ago, in April 2022.”No, it’s not abandoned. There are only a few people who have really left. But the truth is it takes time“, tempers Hoss gassen. This tourist guide points to the “lack of manpower for repairs“, before slipping that ” not everyone can afford to pay.”

In the valley, the damage remains impressive. A lot of things have been wiped off the map. The flood broke bridges, swept away houses, destroyed all networks. The small tourist valley, proud of its pinot noir, risks emptying out. Werner Lanzerath is deputy mayor of Altenahr, a municipality of 1,900 inhabitants, located between two meanders of the Ahr. He had to rehouse a quarter of the inhabitants. “It’s very important to bring people back here. It’s very important economically that people stay here, that we have development, that we have a future in this valley.“, observes the deputy mayor. According to him, “most people need visibility, an agenda, to be able to say, ok, the schedule is for one or two years, and after that, we will be in the construction phase“. With, in sight, a retention basin for prevention.

Here, the adaptation is done by small touches. In the Ahrbruck volunteer fire station, chief Florian Ulrich explains that since the disaster, a drone has been purchased, sirens have been installed. “Nothing can be done in the face of such a disaster. Really, we can’t intervene. Even if we had better equipment, or more people“, resigns Florian Ulrich. “The only thing that is useful, he continues, who could help us if we had to face another similar disaster, it would be an anticipatory evacuation system. If we had a similar event, I think the key would be to warn the population earlier. Only that can be used in the face of such a disaster.“he assures.

In front of his house, still covered in mud up to the second floor, Tino Rossi has made his religion. This 71-year-old architect will not return to the valley: “We leave because there are too many uncertainties, and because we have been the victim of something so extraordinary“Prevention work, including the construction of retention basins, has still not started: “We have to leave, especially since no measures have yet been taken to address the causes of the problem.“, regrets the retired architect.

“We now say to ourselves that it could happen at any time. Maybe every year, and maybe even more violent. We can’t stay here”

Tino Rossi, victim of Ahrbruck

franceinfo

The constructions are done bit by bit. But the valley suffers from a double penalty: the destruction took place when the raw materials crisis set in. This complicates insurance coverage. “Insurance companies have someone to validate quotes. The problem is that this person sets a maximum price. And often it’s not enough to cover reconstruction“, observes Mark Kreutzerg. According to this carpenter, “the price of building materials have increased by 40%, sometimes even 50% in one year“.

In the Arh valley, new neighborhoods are appearing in places. They are lowercase wooden houses, rented 200 euros per month. A year after the disaster, the inhabitants met feel “abandoned” by the government. No one here had prepared for a disaster of such magnitude.