Not all damage is visible in the flooded areas in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.

However, many are already realizing that the reconstruction will take a very long time and will require a lot of help.

But where should the necessary craftsmen and construction companies come from, who are busy with previous orders and who also complain about a lack of material?

The desire to help can often be felt - also on the construction site.

The main association of the German construction industry (HDB) announced that quick help is the top priority and must be implemented quickly.

Last week, the regional associations asked their member companies and passed on possible assistance to the respective municipalities.

Jan Hauser

Editor in business.

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For Reinhard Quast, President of the Central Association of the German Construction Industry (ZDH), the first thing to do is to create shelters for people whose houses and apartments are uninhabitable, as well as to free roads and bridges for aid transports and rescue vehicles.

"In the current emergency situation, the construction companies in the regions are ready for acute crisis aid and are doing their utmost to create a provisional infrastructure for further rescue and relief work in the areas destroyed by the floods," he says.

The construction industry provides equipment, machines and building materials and, according to Quast, is also available for reconstruction and renovations.

Toilets and telephones are down

The clean-up work is to be carried out before the reconstruction. Norbert Portz, alderman of the Association of Towns and Municipalities, was in Ahrweiler himself at the weekend to help friends and to remove buckets of mud from the apartment. The first problem he sees is that there is often a lack of basic water and electricity supplies. Toilets, telephones and fridges are down. "The Bundeswehr and THW must quickly ensure basic supplies for the people here," he says of the exceptional situation. "Incidentally, tradespeople are not sufficiently available in an already overloaded market."

A lot runs on its own. Those who have craftsmen in their families or who know them personally have advantages. But there will hardly be enough skilled workers on site. They would therefore have to come to the places marked by the disaster with longer journeys, which could increase costs. “We would now have to bring together craftsmen from all over the world through a concerted campaign,” Portz demands.

Local businesses are also suffering. Hans Peter Wollseifer, President of the Central Association of German Craftsmen (ZDH), speaks of the fact that the flood disaster destroyed the existence of numerous craft businesses overnight or permanently called them into question. They are currently trying to help you. He sees numerous construction companies from neighboring and distant regions ready to tackle the necessary renovation and reconstruction work: "The current, massive procurement and price problems with building materials are proving to be a hurdle." Wollseifer speaks of flexible solutions at the municipal level: Current price risks for building materials should not remain unilaterally with construction companies. In addition, the craftsman's president is pushing for urgency awards in this exceptional situation.The procedures for the reconstruction should also be streamlined. He considers this to be essential with a view to the future viability of the German economy.

Construction industry can postpone orders

For the construction industry, it is important that the public sector say precisely what is needed when and where.

"Then our companies can reallocate, reschedule or increase their capacities," said the Association of the Construction Industry.

The construction industry is ready to postpone orders to help in such an emergency.

Freehand award is also permitted within the framework of disaster control, among other things if the service is particularly urgent, according to the association.

Municipal expert Portz also sees the need for an urgent restoration of the public infrastructure. Procurement procedures would have to be possible in emergencies, regardless of the authorization of competitions, as direct procurement from a suitable company without adherence to deadlines. "In any case, absolute priority must be given to the rapid and flood-proof restoration of the public infrastructure, i.e. bridges, roads and buildings," he demands.

In addition, huge piles of rubble and rubbish in front of the houses have to be disposed of quickly. Portz will consider the Bundeswehr and THW for this if the disposal companies fail. An elderly woman described the removal of all her belongings from her apartment with the words "Now my entire life is on the rubble mountain". Photo albums, grandchildren's rocking horses, mementos: what the flood came at made it unusable.