Some places near the Blies did not get off lightly during this flood, according to a current assessment of the flood situation in the Saarpfalz district, which has existed since last Friday, 18 May. Streets in Homburg, Mandelbachtal, Kirkel and Gersheim as well as the town centre of Blieskastel and its residents have suffered considerable damage, which still needs to be quantified. The European Cultural Park in Reinheim has also been badly affected. It will be a long time before things can return to a certain degree of normality. Fortunately, no life-threatening injuries have been sustained so far.
Several hundred operations coordinated
Since Friday morning, the crisis team of the Saarpfalz district's lower disaster control authority at the Homburg district office has coordinated several hundred deployments of the special forces of the fire brigade, THW, German Armed Forces, DRK, Malteser Hilfsdienst, private rescue services and the supra-local forces from other districts and the federal territory.
District Administrator on site with the helpers
District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo sometimes only reached particularly badly affected areas in a roundabout way due to numerous closures. However, it was important for him to get a personal impression of the situation on the ground, speak to the helpers and thank them.
District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo: "The impressions and experiences of the past few days have repeatedly caused a rollercoaster of emotions. On the one hand, it's hard to get the images out of your head in view of the damage that can be recognised and is still to be expected, but on the other hand, our efficient, highly motivated emergency services in the district make me proud, grateful and confident. I am particularly pleased about the numerous citizens of all age groups who offered their help in the communities in a moving show of solidarity and lent a hand without much ado to protect their locality and thus our district from further damage. Wherever I went, I found this esprit de corps, the great solidarity of the people in the emergency situation. Very often, the emergency services and many citizens had reached the limits of their capabilities or exceeded them in their ongoing, tireless efforts. This deserves my respect and that of all of us. However, despite the great effort, we also realised that the human and technical resources in the municipalities and the district are not inexhaustible and that the ability to persevere is increasingly suffering as a result.
We will have a whole series of homework to do over the next few weeks based on our diverse experiences. First and foremost is analysing the findings from the current heavy rainfall and flooding event. We will also have to be prepared to deal with numerous other events in the future. It can be assumed that there will be an increasing number of severe weather events such as these - but also other natural events such as periods of heat and drought or vegetation fires, possibly even in a denser sequence. This requires us to consistently optimise our emergency plans and strengthen our emergency response structures, but also to procure the equipment required to deal with these events at an early stage. Personal experience has once again made it clear to me that we either need to stockpile more supplies than before, such as fuel for refuelling emergency vehicles, on site in the individual municipalities or build up such supplies on site at short notice in the run-up to critical scenarios. We have to reckon with roads and paths becoming impassable as a result of flooding, sudden landslides or fallen trees, for example, so that the necessary supplies can no longer get through easily or cannot be delivered due to a lack of personnel. It is clear that we can only deal with such events together: the municipalities on an inter-municipal level together with the districts and the state. Everyone is equally challenged here.
I would like to thank all the helpers from the bottom of my heart - especially those who have travelled from Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and other federal states to actively support us. I wish us all a lot of strength and stamina for the coming days and hope that we all get through this time unharmed and safe and sound."