During a tour of his city, Edgar Kalb quickly senses what awaits him and the citizens. “That is 100,000 euros in damage per house,” the mayor of Dinkelscherben roughly summed up on Sunday afternoon. The heaters, the inverters
Photovoltaic energy-Equipment in the basement, the screed. And not to forget the containers full of waste and the lack of professionals needed to repair the damage.
The market in the Augsburg district on the Zusam has been struggling with flooding since Saturday. “We are really dealing with a catastrophe here,” says Daniel Nägele of the Dinkelscherben volunteer fire brigade. The river has clearly exceeded the previous peak level of 2005, by up to 40 centimeters at some measuring points. Since Friday afternoon, helpers and emergency services have been busy filling thousands of sandbags and setting up defense lines. But even this could not prevent the river from flowing into the city again. “The water came from all sides. “Even from places where it never came from before,” he describes.
Could this tragedy have been prevented?
Events unfolded quickly for emergency services. Even assisted living facilities were not accessible or navigable, so people were rescued by water. Because the train was no longer running, 50 stranded travelers had to be accommodated at the station and further transport had to be organised. Flooded transformer stations led to power outages and telephone and internet networks failed. Even on Sunday afternoon, the fire station was only supplied by emergency generators. “That makes business operations difficult,” says Nägele. He suspects that the emergency services will have to deal with the floods for a few more days.
But could this tragedy have been prevented? In any case, Mayor Kalb is angry with the water board office in Donauwörth. “They have had a building permit for a flood dam two kilometers from the city for eleven years! They haven’t moved a shovel in 11 years,” he says.
In March last year, he was still annoyed by the lack of protective measures: the construction would now cost 6.9 million euros instead of 3.5 million euros, as the Augsburger Allgemeine reported. It was said at the time: The dam must be installed in 2025. For legal reasons, the market was unable to take action itself, Kalb explains, criticizing the state government for its inaction. Dinkelscherben has done his homework and improved flood protection in other places. With success, as it turned out last weekend.
But now the place has suffered damage for which citizens will likely blame local politicians again, Kalb fears. “Why do we have to bear the costs if those responsible do not implement it?” he says angrily. He hopes that at least the state and federal governments will provide enough money for the repairs. “Not everyone has natural hazard insurance,” the mayor knows. Due to the recent floods, it was hardly affordable for some people in Dinkelscherben.