Only 60 percent accessed
Federal states are spending millions on flood protection
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The clean-up work in southern Germany is accompanied by criticism that not enough is being done to protect against flooding. This is not true for Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. But overall, the federal states only use around half of the federal funds over the years. And this despite previous catastrophes.
According to a media report, the federal states have left around 40 percent of the annual federal funds available for investments in better protection against flood disasters. Of the 100 million euros in federal funds in the special framework plan “Measures for preventive flood protection”, almost 59 million euros were drawn down by the states last year, reports the “Rheinische Post”. She refers to an overview from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for the responsible rapporteurs in the Budget Committee of the Bundestag.
In previous years, too, the sum called up by the states was only between 54 and 60 million euros of the total 100 million euros available per year. According to the information, the money from the special framework plan will be used to dismantle dikes in order to create more flood areas on the major rivers. Flood retention basins and polders are also to be built.
According to the report, even federal states that are more frequently affected by river flooding have not made full use of federal aid. For example, North Rhine-Westphalia, where the rising level of the Rhine after heavy rainfall is often a cause for concern, only received 1.8 million euros of 4.9 million euros last year. In the previous year, the absorption of federal funds in the state was less than ten percent.
Southern Germany is withdrawing all of its money
The states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, which are currently affected by the floods, will have made full use of the federal funds available to them in 2023. According to the “Rheinische Post”, almost 23 million euros went to Bavaria and 17 million euros to Baden-Württemberg.
Meanwhile, the state returning officer in Bavaria explains that the current flood will have an impact on the European elections next Sunday. Polling stations will have to be relocated in a number of municipalities. The districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Augsburg, Freising, Günzburg, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen and Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm are particularly affected, as state returning officer Thomas Gößl told the German Press Agency.
In individual cases, the town hall is not yet usable, which is why provisional municipal administrations have been set up. Discussions with the returning officers in the affected areas have shown that the election can be carried out properly.
Voting documents gone? React quickly!
The easiest way to vote is to go to the polling station on election Sunday. Anyone who has already applied for a postal vote can also vote at the polling station with a voting slip and ID.
Anyone who has lost their voting documents due to the flood or has not yet received them should contact their municipality as quickly as possible, apply for new documents and pick them up. In this case, the easiest way is to use postal voting directly on the spot – for example, to hand in the completed ballot envelope directly to the municipality. According to state returning officer Gößl in Bavaria, new voting slips can still be issued until this Saturday at 12 p.m. In addition to the European elections, Bavaria will also have a district election, five mayoral elections and 14 referendums this Sunday.
