Powerless helpers, emergency services and a lot of solidarity: After the flood wave, the extent of the destruction in Schorndorf is evident – and how much work the residents still have ahead of them.
The Schorndorf fire brigade has been on duty for more than 50 hours. While the residents of the particularly affected districts are still sweeping the mud out of their garages and cellars and putting broken furniture on the side of the road, the exhausted comrades are already preparing for the next emergency.
At the fire station in Miedelsbach, they are cleaning the vehicles and spraying down shovels and other equipment. After the flood, a house fire could soon keep them busy, so they want to be ready for action.
On Tuesday morning, a local resident comes by with her daughter. “Are you hungry?” she asks. She has cooked a large pot of pasta with tomato sauce and would like to bring it over. With so much willingness to help – also for the helpers – at least a hearty lunch is guaranteed.
They themselves have had exhausting, nerve-racking hours. In some places, the firefighters could only watch helplessly as the disaster unfolded in their homeland, as a comrade from Miedelsbach told FOCUS online. He did not want to be named so as not to be singled out from the community. “It was a violence that cannot be controlled,” he recalls.
The chaos began for the towns on Sunday evening. A thunderstorm cell suddenly stopped over the mountain and rained down, more than 200 litres per square metre rained down on the ground in a very short time – and without warning led to a flood wave of unimaginable proportions.
When the Miedelsbach residents were called out on Sunday evening to provide long-distance assistance to neighboring Rudersberg, the weather was still moderate, says the firefighter. On the way, they learned that all of the city’s fire departments had been called to help and they suspected that something serious was happening here.
But the comrades didn’t even make it to Rudersberg, as the streets there were already flooded. “The water was above the maintenance depth of our vehicles and there was no other way,” the fireman describes the desperate situation. Shortly afterwards, the first radio messages followed that several people in Miedelsbach were trapped in their cellars.
“The reports have been piling up,” says the fireman. But there was no turning back, the flood wave was making its way downhill too quickly. The emergency services had no choice but to gather in a supermarket parking lot and wait: “Every stream became a border.”
This inability to act also pushed the firefighters to their limits. A wheelchair user was locked in the basement 100 meters away from them. “But we couldn’t help,” says the firefighter. The DLRG units that were also present asked them whether they could cross in a boat. But there was no chance with the masses of water.
The emergency services later learned that the wheelchair user had somehow managed to save herself, and many other reports of people being trapped also had a happy ending. However, two people were found dead in the basement in Miedelsbach on Sunday afternoon.
Some firefighters were also in danger during the operation. When a neighboring unit supported the Miedelsbach firefighters, the fire engine itself was caught in the flood wave.
“The comrades climbed through the window and escaped onto the roof,” the fireman says of a dramatic moment. “It wasn’t easy. We were afraid they would be washed away,” he says. Despite their proximity, they couldn’t even be reached by boat. “I would always help. But that wasn’t possible. We were powerless,” he explains.
As soon as the water had gone, the emergency services left these traumatic experiences behind them and got to work in the town to pump out the cellars. They have worked on more than 160 sites since Sunday, department commander Patrick Krüger told FOCUS online.
It was only on Tuesday afternoon that they had electricity back in their fire station, which was also under water. “Cars belonging to colleagues who were on duty were also washed away,” he says. They are dealing with their own damage after they have helped their fellow people.
Little by little, the Schorndorf residents are making progress with the help of friends, relatives and the emergency services. “If no friends helped, we would have a problem,” stresses local resident Boris Brecht, who is currently repairing the damage in the hobby and part-time business area – everything can be replaced.
“We haven’t even started yet at my father-in-law’s house across the street,” he says, knowing the work that still lies ahead for the people of Miedelsbach. The city has announced a bulk waste collection campaign for the coming weekend. Containers are just as hard to find in the region as water pumps or power generators.
Brecht experienced first hand how dangerous the floods were. When the flood wave hit his hobby room, he wanted to quickly save his belongings. “I slipped and was up to my neck in water. Luckily the power had already been turned off,” he says.
Many people talk about the uncertainty and fear of having to deal with insurance policies – fully comprehensive insurance for cars, household contents, natural hazards. Will the damage be adequately compensated? But in Schorndorf there is also relief at having survived the disaster in good health.