Europe 1 traveled to Germany's Ahr Valley almost a month after deadly floods hit the region.

While most of the rubble has been cleared away and the ruined houses razed to the ground, many residents still live in precarious conditions, deprived of electricity and running water.

REPORTAGE

One month after floods of historic magnitude in western Germany, how are residents living there?

These bad weather left nearly 200 dead and dozens missing.

The disaster area stretches for 50 km along a small river, a tributary of the Rhine, which is normally crossed on foot.

An investigation was opened by the Koblenz prosecutor's office to try to understand why the warning system did not work that night.

A landscape of desolation

In the small villages at the bottom of the Ahr valley, witnesses on the spot do not speak of flooding but say they are victims of a "tsunami". In a few minutes, a flood of 9 meters pulverized 60 bridges. The asphalt from the roads has been torn off. In some places, you only pass with tracked vehicles or construction machinery. There are gaping holes where houses have been washed away.

In Mayschoss, the inhabitants first had to fill the road themselves, to allow the arrival of help, says Alina.

"When we spoke with the soldiers who had done missions in Afghanistan, they said that it was the same here", tells this disaster to Europe 1. "Certainly, we do not lack anything, nobody dies of hunger, we we have something to drink, we have received tons of donations but as far as the destruction goes, it's really like a war zone. "

This week, a commission estimated the damage at around 30 billion euros.

By comparison, the last major floods in Germany, in 2002, in the east of the country, caused 9 billion damage.

It is believed that it will take at least three years to rebuild.

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Private running water

After the first days of chaos, Germany got into working order.

Thanks to the deployment of the army, civil protection services, firefighters, the police and also thousands of absolutely essential volunteers, the clearing work has progressed well.

We hardly see any more piles of debris, car wrecks, the damaged houses have been completely emptied or even razed to the ground.

However, electricity has still not been restored everywhere, and the big problem is water.

No supply and above all no wastewater evacuation system.

This situation can go on for months, say specialists.

"Stay strong"

Some victims have gone to live with friends or family, but very often people are still there, in the upper floors of the houses. They cook with stoves, fill water cans in the Red Cross cisterns. There are also common sanitary facilities. And sheds chock-full of donations. We don't pay anything. We share everything. Joudy Khalil, a young Syrian who has lived in refugee camps, is touched by the solidarity. "Everyone, Germans or foreigners, come together. I've never seen this in my life. The people are nice, friendly, and they try to stay strong."

But behind the smiles, people are "on autopilot", worries Thomas Pütz, a local entrepreneur who organizes the help of volunteers.

"We're still in a state of shock. A lot of people are traumatized. And then this dust, which makes everything sad and dull, is about mental health. We need help. We're all very busy with the work, so people have to go door to door, to ask us how things are going and to take care of us, ”he says.

The first burials took place this week, but first it was necessary to clear the completely devastated cemetery.

Many bodies have still not been identified, which makes the grieving process in the area even more painful.