Residents of the Ahr Valley criticize slow reconstruction

After the flood in July 2021, reconstruction in the Ahr Valley is progressing slowly. In the valley, it is said that tourism is going “to the dogs” permanently. A concept for flood protection is still missing.

ZNormality has at least partially returned to the Ahr Valley: caravans are parked again on the river near Mayschoß, and across the way, where the “Red Wine Route” meanders through the narrow valley, people are once again sitting in front of a bar Wine in the sun. Almost like before. If it weren’t for the many broken houses in the valley, the bare areas where buildings once stood and the destroyed bridges.

Until the model region, which the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) promised the residents of the Ahr Valley about a year ago will be realized, there is still a long way to go. There is no shortage of money. The federal and state governments are providing 15 billion euros for reconstruction, plus around 650 million euros in donations. Private individuals and companies receive up to 80 percent of the replacement value for the reconstruction, and aid organizations pay the remaining 20 percent in many cases. Nevertheless, around 15 months after the flood that devastated the valley in July last year, hardly a house has been completed.