Germany's Ahr Valley flood survivors reflect on the rebuild

It was one of the worst natural disasters Germany has experienced. Torrential rain overnight from July 14 to 15, 2021 transformed the Ahr river in western Germany into a raging monster that swept away people, houses, bridges, and railway sleepers. At least 135 people were killed in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate alone. 

Winemaker Lukas Sermann is among those who lost friends and neighbors that night. "Despite this, I view the flood as an opportunity," Sermann says defiantly. The family business, which he had taken over just two years before the catastrophe, was not insured against flood damage. Nevertheless, Sermann rebuilt the destroyed operation in the town of Altenahr and carried on. "After these two years I am tired, happy and excited," he says. 

Sermann benefited from the €30 billion ($33 billion) reconstruction fund set up by Germany's federal and state governments to help those affected by the flood. The winemaker, who serves as deputy chair of local vintners' association Ahrwein e.V., was able to offset 80% of the damage he suffered with public funds. Today he operates a guest house, a wine shop, and his own winery, which mostly produces the pinot noir for which this region is famous. He also grows Riesling on one hectare of his total 11-hectare vineyard, which sells well, he says, "because white wines are very trendy at the moment."

The narrow Ahr Valley used to be a poor area; rural and down-to-earth. But already the Romans had discovered that grapevines thrived here and today, with about 560 hectares of vineyards, the valley is known as one of Germany's best growing regions for red wines. In recent decades, the steep slopes covered in grapevines have attracted increasing numbers of wine connoisseurs and tourists.

The region's wine is selling well again, but many tourists are staying away, Sermann says. He thinks this is because some of the roads have not yet been rebuilt. Bicycle paths and railway lines are far from being completely restored; the same applies to facilities for buses and campers.

Tourism infrastructure lacking

Carolin Gross, a spokesperson for Ahrwein, lists another reason: "Many large hotels and convention centers have not yet reopened." Some never will. Bed capacity has now been restored to about 60% of what it was. Tourists now tend to stay only for a weekend instead of several days as they used to.

Thomas Winges openly admits that the Ahr Valley is not yet a top holiday destination again. "Relaxing is something different," he says, referring to the construction and machine noise which remains omnipresent in almost the entire valley. Everywhere there is cleaning up, hammering, carpentry, building, levelling. However, his business model is working. Before the flood, he offered walking tours of the romantic town of Altenahr. Now the tour is called "walking between the worlds". By that he means the destruction still visible at the bottom of the valley and the beauty in the vineyards above.

He shows photos of the destroyed village taken straight after the flood, and talks with sadness about the 10 people who were killed in this area. He describes the floodwaters, which reached 10.6 meters (about 35 feet) – the current level is 48 centimeters – and took everything with them. But he also speaks of the people showing great solidarity, helping each other and the many volunteers who came from all over to lend a hand.

Many things are far from normal, however, reports Hubert Pauly, the president of the local winegrowers' association. Fear still impacts the approximately 130,000 residents of the valley. The lingering fears of the torrent, the flood, the suffering. The images haunt many people, even in their dreams, Pauly says. There are anxious glances toward the sky with every new storm. 

'Will our home be broken again?'

Outside, the rain begins to pour. Thunderstorms were forecast on this day in late June. The school in Ahrweiler is closed as a precaution. When there is heavy rain and thunder, many adults and children become scared and have flashbacks. Pauly says a friend's granddaughter asked: "Grandpa, will our home be broken again?" 

Hubert Pauly describes the damage suffered by the winemakers of the Ahr valley and estimates it will add up to about €200 million. Only 5 of the 35 wineries in the valley escaped damage from the flood. He adds that they received a lot of solidarity from vintners from other regions, who from the beginning helped with the cleanup, the grape harvest, the pressing and storage of the Ahr valley wine. He mentions the solidarity shown by customers who purchased the "flood wine" — the bottles that survived, covered in silt.

However, Pauly also reports that some telephone lines have still not yet been restored, mobile phone coverage is poor, and there is still uncoordinated planning, development, and a lack of flood protection measures on the Ahr. 

The people here want to look ahead, the winegrowing president says. And even if everything does not go to plan, the Ahr valley region remains "worth living in and loving."

Note: The research for this story was supported by the German Wine Institute (DWI). 

This article was originally written in German.

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