Only once in 1000 years

The majority of our travel group went to the Nürburgring today and had an interesting day dedicated to racing, which we will report on in detail tomorrow. A handful of those who were unable to go for various reasons explored the town of Mayschoß, where reconstruction work is still being carried out in many places after the flood disaster of 2021.

A brief review: It was July 14, a Wednesday, when rainfall of biblical proportions hit large parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. In its follow-up to the events, the German Weather Service spoke of "an amount of rain that occurs once in 1,000 years." Over the course of the night, the small, tranquil Ahr River turned into a raging, hundreds of meters wide whirlpool of death that swallowed up everything in its path like a tsunami. 141 people died in Rhineland-Palatinate alone, 766 were injured. 467 houses were destroyed, over 3,000 were seriously damaged. 17,000 people lost their property. Roads, bridges, rails, power lines and sewage systems no longer existed. Heating oil and fuels contaminate the soil and water. There is a risk of epidemics.

On our tour we meet a woman who does not want to be named, but who tells us about a night that no one in the Ahr Valley will ever forget. "We were totally surprised by the water," she says. By 10 p.m. the ground floor of her large property was already completely flooded. And the water was increasing rapidly. "By 1 a.m. we had to take refuge on the roof. I held my 85-year-old mother tight. We were sitting on the roof ridge of our neighbor's house. The water was up to our feet." They heard helicopters flying, screams from the neighboring houses. Panic, fear of death gripped their hearts in the darkness...

When the water had receded enough at 6 a.m. that they could go back into the house, the horror was boundless. "Everything was in ruins. We had nothing left, just what we were wearing. No papers, no pictures, no jewelry. We had to start from scratch." But even the greatest misfortune has positive aspects. "Yes, that's true," says the woman. "The solidarity and help we received changed us in the Ahr Valley."

And you can feel that on our walk. The people here are friendly and laugh a lot. Life is back in Mayschoß. Hopefully for the next 1000 years.