A woman from the Ahr valley made it clear on Saturday morning in Aachen Cathedral with a brief and moving report how elementary the shock is even a month and a half after the devastating flood disaster.

“Days after the flood: Mud on the street, it had rained, my feet are slipping away.

There it is again, the fear of sinking into the floods, ”says the woman in the ecumenical service at the beginning of the memorial service for the victims of the July flood.

Pure burger

Political correspondent in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Added to this is the fear of so many affected people of being forgotten.

Because nothing is good for a long time.

“Almost seven weeks after the flood, there are still mountains of rubbish, dirty streets, stench, no fresh tap water, and insufficient gas and energy supplies.

Autumn, winter, the cold - they will come. ”Billions can be calculated that are necessary to repair the material damage.

"But what does it take to be able to bear the emotional fears and losses?"

Aachen as the central city in Europe

The Catholic German Bishops' Conference, the Evangelical Church in Germany and the Working Group of Christian Churches had invited to the memorial event. They chose the city of Aachen, located in the center of Europe, as a place to remind them that the neighboring countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland were also affected by the disaster. After prolonged heavy rain, large areas were flooded in mid-July, houses, streets and tracks were torn away. More than 180 people died in Germany alone.

The Ahr valley in Rhineland-Palatinate and the southwestern part of North Rhine-Westphalia were particularly badly hit. In addition to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet and the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer have come to the High Cathedral in Aachen.

It takes time before loss and injuries can be processed, says the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Georg Bätzing, in his sermon. The extent of the destruction leaves one speechless. But already now "a glimmer of hope is visible", since so many rescuers and volunteers have been working for weeks. The council chairman of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, also goes into the causes of the flood. “The consequences of man-made climate change have reached us. We understand that. ”He hopes that in twenty years time people will be able to say that the drama of the events has led to reflection and a new beginning.

After the service, the Federal President speaks in Aachen Cathedral.

A calamity had struck the people in the disaster areas that nobody could have imagined.

“We, the people everywhere in Germany, sympathize with you.

You are not alone, ”assures Steinmeier.

How great the despair is can only be guessed at.

“And yet you haven't given up.

They carried on, helped each other, cleared the worst of the havoc to begin with.

You tackled, despite your desperation. "

He has great respect for that, says the Federal President.

He is also deeply grateful for the great, overwhelming willingness to help, the rescuers, emergency services, volunteers and also the donors.

“I know: in the hour of need we are a strong, solidary country.

We help each other, we stand together. "

"Reconstruction will take years in many places"

The federal and state governments have decided on an aid fund worth billions as never before.

But not everything can be cured with money.

The people in the disaster areas are not only dependent on help and attention now.

“You will still need them after the television cameras have been dismantled and other news items have long been in the headlines.

And not just because the reconstruction will take years in many places, ”says Steinmeier.

There is no simple answer to the question of what needs to be done to prevent this in the future. But there is no doubt that the consequences of climate change have also reached Europe. “We must fight climate change with all determination! We mustn't lose any more time! ”Demands the Federal President in his address. Germany, too, must be prepared to be hit more frequently and more severely by extreme weather conditions in the future and therefore take far more comprehensive precautions.

It is painful to realize that one may have felt too safe in Germany. “Two disasters in such a short time, that made some certainties fragile. Many feel: just get back to the agenda, just get back to the old track as quickly as possible, that can't be the answer. ”Politicians must learn lessons from this double experience of disasters and prepare society better for future crises.

“We not only owe that to the victims of the flood,” says the Federal President, in order to then formulate a duty of ongoing solidarity in Aachen Cathedral, a duty not to forget. “What happened to them concerns us all. It affects us all. ”Steinmeier calls out to those affected by the July flood:“ We know that you will need us for a long time. We stand by your side. ”And once again the Federal President assures:“ We will not forget you! ”