At Ahr valley memorial, Steinmeier recalls 2021 flood deaths and warns Germany is still not ready for the next one

National remembrance in Düsseldorf and the Ahr valley

Five years after deadly floods swept through the Ahr valley and surrounding regions, Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the prime ministers of the affected Länder, survivors, and relatives gathered at multiple memorial sites. In the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf, Steinmeier addressed a commemorative hour alongside NRW Minister-President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and Landtag President André Kuper (CDU), with relatives of victims and first responders in attendance. The Bundespräsident called the catastrophe an unmistakable warning. "We owe it to the people who lost everything that night to have the serious, consistent will to ensure that we are better prepared for such disasters and do what we can against advancing climate change," Steinmeier said. He later travelled to the Ahr valley, opening the photo exhibition "We Ahr Strong. Five years, a new perspective" in Altenahr and laying a wreath at the cemetery chapel in Ahrweiler.

We owe it to the people who lost everything that night to have the serious, consistent will to ensure that we are better prepared for such disasters and do what we can against advancing climate change.

The human cost and the night of 14-15 July 2021

Torrential rain on 14 and 15 July 2021, with more than 150 millimetres falling in 24 hours, pushed the normally placid Ahr river and tributaries beyond their banks. The floodwaters turned rural streets into raging rivers, sweeping away cars and bridge segments, and trapping people in basements and attics. By the time the flood peaked in the early hours of 15 July, nearly 200 people were dead: 136 in the Ahrweiler district of Rhineland-Palatinate and 49 in North Rhine-Westphalia, according to Steinmeier's figures. At the Lebenshilfe home for people with intellectual disabilities in Sinzig, twelve residents died when water surprised them in their sleep. One survivor, Carola Körbel, recounted the night to Rhineland-Palatinate Minister-President Gordon Schnieder (CDU) during his visit to the rebuilt facility. "That was the worst night I have ever experienced in my life," she said, remembering a best friend who perished. She showed with her hand a water level above her head.

That was the worst night I have ever experienced in my life. One of those who died was my best friend.

A warning delivered too late

Investigations and reporting after the flood revealed that European and German meteorological services had issued increasingly urgent warnings in the days before the disaster. The European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) alerted German authorities on 9 July of a high probability of flooding in the Rhine catchment area. On 12 July, the German Weather Service (DWD) forecast "heavy torrential rain" in the coming days. On the morning of 14 July, the DWD warned of "extreme severe weather" and urged caution. The district of Ahrweiler, however, only declared alert level 5 at 22:00 on 14 July, ordering evacuations within 50 metres of the river. In that district alone, 136 people lost their lives. The district administrator was investigated on suspicion of negligent homicide and bodily harm by omission, though prosecutors ultimately closed the case. In the political fallout, the then Green environment minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Anne Spiegel, and the SPD interior minister, Roger Lewentz, both resigned.

Gaps in protection and slow construction

In an interview with Der Tagesspiegel, flood protection expert Holger Schüttrumpf said that while early-warning systems have improved markedly after 2021 (cell broadcasting, the annual Warntag, and apps like Nina or Katwarn), structural flood defences lag behind. North Rhine-Westphalia has issued permits and completed far-reaching planning for retention basins on the Rur, Inde, and Erft rivers. Rhineland-Palatinate has plans for 18 retention basins on the Ahr. Yet five years later, Schüttrumpf noted, not a single one of these basins is under construction in either Land. He warned that if a comparable extreme rainfall event occurred today, the flooded areas would look much as they did in 2021. "We are simply not far enough along with structural flood protection measures," he said, blaming slow permitting processes that take many years.

We are simply not far enough along with structural flood protection measures.

Calls for climate action and recognition of solidarity

Steinmeier framed the flood as a direct warning about the climate crisis, stating that Germany must not lose sight of climate protection. "Neither in the fight against the causes of such disasters nor in the effort to become more resilient to heat, drought, and extreme weather are we already where we actually should be," he said. He also spent considerable time praising the solidarity shown after the catastrophe. Volunteers came from cities across Germany (Wermelskirchen, Cologne, Berlin, and the Ruhr region), thousands on some weekends, with shovels and buckets and cakes, "day after day, for weeks and months, long after the television cameras had left," Steinmeier recounted. At the photo exhibition in Altenahr, he heard from survivors, including 89-year-old Eberhard, whose wife was torn from his arms by a wave, and Laura, who was 13 at the time and recalled the terror of the night. Steinmeier said the anniversary was both a day of pain and a reminder of an "impressive degree of solidarity" experienced in the valley.

In the hour of need we are a strong, solidary country. We help one another. We stand together.