When floods tore through the German village of Dernau last week, 39-year-old mother Carina Dewald lost everything. In the meantime, “I am technically homeless and unemployed,” she said. Roads have been torn up and bridges destroyed, with some parts of the valley only accessible by air. Peter Schnitzler, 55, the manager and head chef of a local family-run hotel, is also fearful about the future. With some growing desperate, police in Koblenz had warned residents on Monday to “not use the water from the Ahr as drinking water or for washing clothes”.

Source: The Local July 20, 2021 14:48 UTC