The former Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of the Environment and current Federal Minister for Family Affairs Anne Spiegel (Greens) defended her behavior regarding the flood in the Ahr Valley in mid-July.

Before the investigative committee of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament in Mainz, Spiegel said late on Friday evening that it was "absolutely wrong" that at any point in time she had any priority other than helping people.

She also stated that she "completely trusted" employees of her then ministry when it came to information about the flood situation;

everyone involved worked “very conscientiously”.

Julian Staib

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

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Spiegel had recently been sharply criticized after it became known that on the morning of July 15, when it was already clear that there had been a catastrophe overnight, she had exchanged words with employees, probably on the assumption that she could be held accountable.

In addition, her ministry had not corrected a warning press release ("no extreme floods") on July 14, against better knowledge.

Even after Spiegel's appearance, many questions remained unanswered.

It is unclear, for example, to what extent the minister had any contact with employees on the evening of the flood.

According to an overview of the telephone connections, the State Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment, Erwin Manz (Greens), tried to reach her, most recently at 10:24 p.m.

Manz told the committee that Spiegel called back shortly afterwards, saying it was a "short, concise exchange".

Spiegel made a similar statement.

However, there is no recall from Spiegel in the files of the committee of inquiry.

Manz stated that he only made a list of the outgoing calls.

He did not inform the committee of this out of "carelessness".

Spiegel stated that she then spoke on the phone until two in the morning, including with her husband.

The committee has no communication regarding Manz - email or telephone - for the period between 6:28 p.m. and 9:23 p.m. on July 14.

During this time, many places on the Ahr were flooded by water.

Manz stated that he may have "ate something" or "done the office mail" during this time.

He went to sleep around 11 p.m.

From July 14th to 15th, 134 people died on the Ahr, more than 700 were injured, many were surprised by the floods while they were sleeping.