On the morning of July 15, the Ahr was a scene of devastation: the houses had been destroyed, cars were hanging in the trees, and gas containers were floating in the still high river.

At the time, the actual extent of the disaster was unclear, but dozens of people were already missing and there were indications of deaths.

Julian Staib

Political correspondent for Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland based in Wiesbaden.

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However, the Rhineland-Palatinate Environment Minister Anne Spiegel (Greens) and one of her employees were primarily concerned that Spiegel could be held responsible for the disaster and that she could be marginalized within the state government.

This is suggested by non-public files from the committee of inquiry into the Ahr Valley disaster, which are available to the FAZ.

Shortly after six in the morning on July 15, an employee of the press office of the Ministry of the Environment wrote to Spiegel via SMS that the situation was “very serious”, that a disaster had been declared in several districts and that people were missing.

An almost identical message went to Spiegel's press spokesman at the time, Dietmar Brück, who is now deputy spokesman for the Rhineland-Palatinate state government.

"The Blame Game could start immediately"

Brück then wrote to Spiegel and the press officer: The heavy rain event would be “the dominant topic”, “Anne needs a credible role”, but it should “not look like political instrumentalization”.

The "participation makes MP" (Prime Minister Malu Dreyer, SPD), but information on the flood situation and warnings could come from the Ministry of the Environment.

It is important to ensure "that the MP and Roger" (meaning Dreyer and the SPD Interior Minister Roger Lewentz) "do not now develop a five-point plan against heavy rain".

"That coincides with my thoughts," Spiegel replied shortly afterwards.

"The blame game could start immediately, we need wording that we warned in good time, we have always made all data transparent, I warned the cabinet that everything would have gotten worse without our preventive and precautionary measures, etc." Spiegel continued : "I trust Roger to say that the disaster could have been prevented or would not have been so bad if we, the Ministry of the Environment, had warned earlier." The Ministry of the Environment said on Tuesday when asked that Spiegel would be a witness in the investigative committee "to comment on all questions that concern their personal perception".

Out of respect for the parliamentary procedure, one does not want to anticipate this process.

134 people died in the Ahr flood disaster and more than 700 were injured.

Many people were surprised by the floods while they were still asleep, although places on the upper reaches of the Ahr had been flooded for hours at the time and from the point of view of meteorologists it was clear by the afternoon of July 14 at the latest that a catastrophe would occur.

However, the district responsible for civil protection only initiated a partial evacuation when it was far too late for that.

As Environment Minister at the time, Spiegel headed the State Office for the Environment, which is responsible for forecasting water levels.

At 3:24 p.m. on July 14, it predicted a water level of over five meters in Altenahr – far more than during the “flood of the century” in 2016. Nevertheless, Spiegel’s Ministry of the Environment sent an email at 4:43 p.m. stating that “there was no risk of extreme flooding “.