Markus Ramers actually wants to look ahead now.

“I think it's pointless to talk about what else could have been done.

That was a disaster the likes of which we have never known, ”says the district administrator of the Euskirchen district in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The masses of water have hit the district hard.

Nevertheless, it is out of the question for the 34-year-old Social Democrat to simply carry on as before.

Of course, the question of guilt is always asked quickly, he says.

"I do believe that we have to come to terms with that."

Jonas Jansen

Business correspondent in Düsseldorf.

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Johannes Leithäuser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Rudiger Soldt

Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.

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Working up, Ramers means above all the questions whether the citizens were sufficiently warned about the floods and whether the help arrived on the spot quickly enough.

"We have to prepare even better for such disasters in order to be able to save more people and buildings in the future," the district administrator is convinced.

"During the crisis, we noticed that telecommunication is an extremely important means - and if we are suddenly cut off from electricity, from the cell phone network, from the landline network, everything becomes more difficult." Ramers says: "The warnings are also more difficult."

A warning to all mobile phones

Many in Berlin agree that the local warning systems can be improved. The federal government wants to check whether, in the event of a disaster, citizens can also be warned of impending dangers by SMS. Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) advocated this warning method on Tuesday, in which all mobile phones within a certain cellular area can receive the same message. Data protection reasons should no longer prevent this, he said. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) was also open to this on Tuesday.

The President of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Aid (BBK), Armin Schuster, agreed that his authority would use a feasibility study to check whether such an SMS alarm would be “useful and feasible”. Schuster estimated to the editorial network Germany that such an investment would cost 20 to 40 million euros. In addition, sirens should wail as before in an emergency. The federal government is making a total of 88 million euros available to the federal states so that they can modernize or reinstall their siren network.

But the structure of the rescue service is also being critically examined.

According to information from the FAZ, there should have been problems coordinating the rescue work between Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.

On Thursday, many vehicles of the German Red Cross are said to have been sent to the area for ambulance transport very quickly - but two thirds of these vehicles from Baden-Württemberg are said to have returned on Friday, the rest on Saturday.

700 kilometers for nothing

Because there was an oversupply of vehicles in the disaster area, many drivers drove 700 kilometers there and back, often in vain. “They waited at the Nürburgring. That was the largest dating car park for rescue workers, ”reports a helper who wants to remain anonymous. Instead of electricity generators or devices for water treatment, there was an oversupply of ambulance vehicles. "It was insane, many were really frustrated with helpers because they drove back in cars while columns of emergency vehicles came towards them." The Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) contradicted the representation:

“I was told that we met the requests for help precisely. The state fire brigade school ensured where we had to move equipment. ”On Tuesday, Strobl called a special meeting of the conference of interior ministers, of which he is currently chairman.