FLOOD DISASTER IN THE AHR VALLEY - A REPORT

Report from Altenahr

Lost in translation: This article was originally written in German. The translation is likely to be stilted.

This is my report on my trip to Weingut Sermann in the Ahr Valley after the flood disaster.

Help or donate?

After a whole week of pondering, I volunteered to help. Why so late? Because wanting to help is sometimes no help at all. If you roll up without a tanker full of drinking water or a really badass pump, your desire to help can swiftly become a burden. If there is no electricity or toilets, a monetary donation can really be the best help.

Don't underestimate the situation. There were no toilets. It's was not a flood like a bathtub that got fuller and fuller and eventually overflowed. The water hit hard and fast and flooded the area with six meters of flotsam, brown water full of trees, machinery, cars and yes, wine tanks and barrels. Everything was destroyed. An eighth of the structures had to be demolished. Even buildings I was working in were classified as worthy of demolition at short notice and were torn down without any further formalities.

Don't underestimate the task of helping. You enter a disaster area at your own risk with all the consequences. No toilets. If you want to go you have to take care of yourself. If you join a bucket brigade for six hours and come home safely, you've helped. If you come again they'll call you a helper. Cleaning up is backbreaking work in the mud and the psychological strain is considerable. My message then was: talk to the people of Ahrtal, they will tell you if, when and how you can help. Don't go into the disaster area without a plan.

Groups of helpers from other wine regions showed up. Hessians, Swabians and Palatinate people could be identified by their accents in the darkness while we cleared the mud from a cellar with headlamps. "The vintage is just around the corner!"