Houses in Ahr Valley flooded “up to the roof” – Politics – SalonFilaha.com

Rhineland-Palatinate’s interior ministry received a situation report from the police on the night of the flooding, detailing the scale of the disaster. But Minister Roger Levens wouldn’t have it.

After videos taken by a police helicopter showing the extent of flooding in the Ahr Valley became public last week, a report emerged from the pilots and was sent overnight to the interior ministry’s command center. The ministry confirms it received the report at 12:53 a.m., but Interior Minister Roger Levents (SPD) did not.

Only: Why not?

The situation center of the Rhineland-Palatinate interior ministry asked the police helicopter to fly in the evening of the flooding. This was said by an officer in the inquiry commission. The helicopter climbed the river between 10:14 pm and 10:42 pm. In their report, the pilots write, Allgemeiner ZeitungFlooding occurred from the mouth of the Ahr in Chinsik to the Schulte area “with dramatic consequences”. “Many houses” were flooded “to the roof”. People send “SOS” signals with flashing lights. Firefighters can no longer access flooded homes due to “strong currents.”

The commission requested all the documents in February itself

AZ also writes that the situation report was placed in the investigative commission’s evidence files “a few days ago” – and this, despite the fact that the commission had requested all documents related to the “situation board” premises as early as February. Then, either the Ministry or the Helicopter Force should have sent a report to the Commission.

Asked about this, the Home Ministry said the minister’s level of knowledge was “widely known to the public” at the time. Roger Levents always said he didn’t have the “full picture of the situation” and that he started from “once in a flood.” Although the report was received by his ministry’s Situation Centre, no reason was given for his not reading the report.

For days now, Lewentz has been under massive pressure, not least because videos of the helicopter recently appeared in the investigative team’s evidence files. This was due to a document error by the police. A spokesperson for the CDU group in the commission speaks of a “gross scandal”.