Handwritten notes hang on the Volksbank branch in Bad Münstereifel in the Euskirchen district.

It says where customers are currently getting their cash, right in front of the bank next to the train station in the city, which was badly affected by the flooding, a huge crater has opened up in the concrete.

Jonas Jansen

Business correspondent in Düsseldorf.

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The business premises of the Volksbank Hohenlimburg in Hagen in the Ruhr area were under water, where the first customers can now see what happened to their lockers together with an insurance agent.

In many places, even those places have been hit from which residents now hope for help, whether they are town halls or banks.

The water is gone, but the damage will remain for a long time.

More than half of the 53 districts and independent cities in North Rhine-Westphalia have been affected to varying degrees by the consequences of the severe weather disaster.

"This storm has inflicted deep wounds on our homeland," said Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) on Thursday in a press conference after the special session of the cabinet on the country's emergency aid program.

The state is initially providing 200 million euros.

If there is not enough money, more is added, says Laschet

If the money is not enough, more will be added, assured Laschet.

“We will raise as much money as is necessary.

Aid for those who are left with nothing is a solidarity task, ”says the Prime Minister and candidate for Chancellor of the Union.

North Rhine-Westphalia also wants to use the European Union's solidarity fund.

The people should now be helped quickly and unbureaucratically.

As in Rhineland-Palatinate, there is a basic amount of 1500 euros for each household in the affected areas, which is increased by 500 euros for each additional person in the household - but only up to a maximum of 3500 euros.

The money is to be paid out through the cities and municipalities, either as a transfer or in cash.

Anyone who has damage of at least 5000 euros that is not covered by insurance is entitled to apply.

For immediate aid, a two-page form must be filled out in which the damage is listed in bullet points.

Residents can download the forms or fill them in at their city or local authority.

An online application is initially not possible.

"Trust that there is no abuse"

An asset or means test is not planned for the application, nor does it have to be proven what the money is used for.

"We trust the citizens here that there is no abuse," said Laschet.

If it comes to that, money will be reclaimed.

"It is crucial that the money now reaches the citizens quickly."

The applications are to be checked directly on site, and the payment should be made “a few days after the application has been approved”.

For companies, farmers and forestry companies, there should initially be a payment of 5000 euros for clearing and cleaning or for losses in fields and in stables.

In practice, a transfer should be the method of choice, because the supply of cash in the still heavily devastated regions is currently still complicated, also in view of the strain on the public infrastructure.

Depending on the severity of the devastation, the state transfers emergency aid to the cities, municipalities and districts affected by the storm so that the infrastructure can be restored.

First, the energy and wastewater infrastructure must be refurbished

Initially, the state is making 65 million euros available so that the energy supply and sewage disposal can be restored or care and educational facilities are cleared and cleaned.

The Cologne administrative district receives the largest share of 43 million euros, while the Euskirchen district within it receives around 15 million euros.

The districts should distribute the funds to the cities and municipalities on their own responsibility.

With a decree to the municipalities, the Ministry of the Environment also wants to facilitate waste disposal, thus relieving the locations of the obligation to provide evidence and register.

In the cities affected by the flood, provisional interim storage facilities for rubbish have long been established, and residents and helpers are sometimes converting entire streets into garbage dumps.

The Federal Association of the German Waste Management Industry regulates that waste from North Rhine-Westphalia can also be disposed of in other federal states. “On-site waste disposal has reached its limits. We need supraregional help here, ”said Laschet.