Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) travels to the flood area in northern Lower Saxony. This was announced by the Lower Saxony State Chancellery. Scholz, Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) and State Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) are expected at Verden near Bremen on Sunday morning.
According to the State Chancellery, a sightseeing flight over the particularly affected areas is initially planned. At around 11 a.m., the state fire director in Verden an der Aller will inform politicians about the flood situation, the protective measures taken and expected further developments. Afterwards, Scholz, Weil and Behrens want to exchange ideas with citizens affected by the floods. The Chancellor would then like to thank the support staff, the State Chancellery said.
“Bild” had previously reported that the Chancellor wanted to thank the helpers and show those affected that the government was not leaving them alone in this difficult situation. In recent decades, government leaders have repeatedly traveled to flood-affected areas. In 2021, then-Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) encouraged the people in the Ahr Valley in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Thousands of emergency services have been battling the consequences of heavy rainfall in several areas of Germany for days. Particularly affected are parts of Lower Saxony, the south of Saxony-Anhalt on the border with Thuringia and areas in North Rhine-Westphalia. Recently the weather situation had relaxed slightly. Meteorologists are expecting more rain in the next few days. Helpers fear that the river levels could then rise again.
For many volunteer fire departments, the Technical Relief Agency (THW) and many other helpers, the flood means that they will have to spend the New Year in action. The authorities have recently been particularly concerned about weakened dikes.
