- Title: Flood relief pours in from German wellwishers, helpers moved by extent of gifts.
- Date: 19th July 2021
- Summary: GERMANY (JULY 19, 2021) (REUTERS) CAMERA MOVES THROUGH PILES OF AID DONATED BY CONCERNED CITIZENS, INCLUDING CHILDREN'S TOYS CAMERA MOVES PAST TABLES FULL OF CROCKERY VARIOUS TOP VIEWS OF INDOOR TRACK WITH STANDS FULL OF DONATIONS VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS SORTING STUFF STACKS OF DRINKING WATER (SOUNDBITE) (German) PRESS SPOKESMAN FOR COLLECTION AND LOGISTICS CENTRE FOR AID ORGANISATIONS, ALEXANDER GERHARD, SAYING: "It is a very difficult situation. On the one hand you have the incredible helpfulness and on the other hand we have incredibly limited capacity here and it is essential that we communicate in a highly sensitive way so that nobody who wants to help ends up feeling rejected. It is a difficult task and at the same time we are so moved by what has happened in the region here but also about how people are coming forward to help. So much clothing, food, so many toys have been brought and all of it has been brought by volunteers and is being sorted by volunteers. It is an incredible situation." VOLUNTEERS UNPACKING AND SORTING BOXES OF GOODS (SOUNDBITE) (German) PRESS SPOKESMAN FOR COLLECTION AND LOGISTICS CENTRE FOR AID ORGANISATIONS, ALEXANDER GERHARD, SAYING: "We have had people come by to directly pick stuff up. These include people coming down from the hotel on the race track and we are of course trying to stay in constant touch with the aid organisations who will be responsible for distributing the aid and getting into the regions that need help. We are the collection point and are trying now to work with the aid agencies to get the donations to the affected regions." VARIOUS OF PILES OF BIN BAGS FILLED WITH DONATIONS VOLUNTEER SORTING CROCKERY CAMERA MOVES THROUGH BOXES OF DONATED SHOES (SOUNDBITE) (German) VOLUNTEER, ANNA GEISEN, SAYING: "I live in D, which was not affected so badly and I wanted to help those who were more affected and it was my first day here today and I saw how much has been donated which is so nice. And at the moment we are sorting household stuff and are doing our best and are pretty overwhelmed. When I arrived and saw this I was pretty overwhelmed." (SOUNDBITE) (German) VOLUNTEER, RUTH ROT-GERADE, SAYING: "It's overwhelming when you see how much has been donated and how grateful the people are to receive it." VOLUNTEER BRINGING IN BAGS VARIOUS OF ARMY, EMERGENCY VEHICLES AND AID ORGANISATION VEHICLES WAITING TO DELIVER GOODS AND PROVISIONS
- Embargoed: 2nd August 2021 16:44
- Keywords: Floods Flut Germany Hochwasser Klima Ueberschwemmung climate
- Location: NUERBURG, GERMANY
- City: NUERBURG, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Europe,Floods
- Reuters ID: LVA001EMIAJPJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Donations continued to pour in to a collection centre at the famous Nuerburg motor racing ring on Monday (July 19) as across the country people pulled together to help those affected by Germany's worst floods in decades.
Volunteers were kept busy round the clock sorting hundreds of gifted toys, clothes and crockery, ready to be driven or air lifted into the worst hit communities.
"We have had people come by to directly pick stuff up. These include people coming down from the hotel on the race track and we are of course trying to stay in constant touch with the aid organisations who will be responsible for distributing the aid and getting into the regions that need help," said Alexander Gerhard, one of the aid organisers.
Volunteers were both moved and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of donations still being dropped off.
"I wanted to help those who were more affected and it was my first day here today and I saw how much has been donated which is so nice. And at the moment we are sorting household stuff and are doing our best and are pretty overwhelmed. When I arrived and saw this I was pretty overwhelmed," volunteer Anna Geisen told Reuters.
The worst of the flooding cut off entire communities from power or communications. Residents were trapped in their homes by fast-rising floodwaters and a number of houses collapsed.
The German government is readying a relief package for hard-hit communities in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, and also in Bavaria and Saxony, where there were fresh floods over the weekend.
One government source told Reuters on Monday that immediate relief worth around 400 million euros ($340 million) was being discussed, half of which would be paid by the federal government and half by the states.
The relief package, which is also expected to include billions of euros for longer-term rebuilding efforts, is due to be presented to the cabinet on Wednesday.
On Monday, the death toll in Germany had risen to over 160.
(production: Andi Kranz, Tanya Wood) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None