The flood protection system in Grimma in Saxony was badly damaged by unknown perpetrators.
As the city administration announced on Monday, among other things, a larger flood gate is affected.
Iron parts that are necessary for operation have been bent.
Now the gate can no longer be closed.
Because each chain is only as strong as its weakest link, the entire system is not functional, explained the mayor of Grimma, Matthias Berger (non-party).
If there was a flood, the city would be “completely defenseless”.
The complex flood protection system was only completed in 2019 after eleven years of construction.
The costs were then put at 57 million euros.
78 gates of various sizes are built into the two-kilometer-long protective structure, which can be closed within two hours.
With the wall, Grimma in the Leipzig district is to withstand a flood like 2013.