The German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday visited the city of Bad Münstereifel in North Rhine-Westphalia, which was particularly hard hit by the floods, together with CDU Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet. The two promised quick and, above all, unbureaucratic help.
The cabinet should already decide on an emergency aid package worth 400 million euros for the flood areas in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. Half of the sum is to be financed by the federal government and half by the states. In addition, Germany wants to apply for funds from the EU solidarity fund. The first aid funds are to be paid out to those affected in just a few days.
The true extent of the catastrophe is gradually becoming apparent, which, according to Armin Laschet, is “man-made”: The authorities are already talking of damage amounting to more than two billion euros. “The only consolation is the solidarity of the people,” said the shocked Chancellor Merkel.
