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Damaged ships lie in the port of Damp

Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt / dpa

The Baltic Sea storm surge has caused massive damage in Schleswig-Holstein – now the state and municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein have agreed on the outlines of a reconstruction fund of 200 million euros. "Of course, with 200 million euros, the wish is for the federal government to contribute 100 million euros," said Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU). Coastal protection is a joint task. "That's why there has to be an appropriate federal involvement." He expressed this to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).

"That's an enormously large sum," Günther said. In the area of tourism and municipal infrastructure alone, it is estimated that there is damage amounting to almost 140 million euros. In the area of coastal protection, it would be 40 million euros and in the case of institutions of general interest, including daycare centers, for example, another 20 million euros would be added. "Of course, no offers have been obtained, but this is a realistic sum and we will manage them together in solidarity."

Municipal representatives also rated the discussions in the state government's guest house in Kiel positively. "From a municipal point of view, we can be satisfied," said the managing director of the district council, Sönke Schulz. Initial agreements have been made with the state government. "Of course, the focus for us is on rebuilding the municipal and tourist infrastructure." It had been assured that money would also flow retroactively for work that was already underway.

Expectations of the Confederation

Flensburg's Lord Mayor Fabian Geyer (independent) was also satisfied with the result. "We'll sit down again next week to sort out more details." When repairing the damage, speed is of the essence. "The money, I'm assuming, will be available relatively quickly."

On the night of 21 October, Flensburg experienced a once-in-a-century flood with a peak of 2.27 metres above normal. Parts of the port area were flooded. A similarly high value was last measured in Flensburg in 1904 with 2.23 metres.

The managing director of the Schleswig-Holstein Association of Municipalities, Jörg Bülow, emphasized that acute work on the must be carried out quickly in order to get through autumn and winter well. "Our clear expectation is that the federal government will help Schleswig-Holstein in this particularly difficult situation, just as it has done in other areas in other federal states."

The financing of the reconstruction fund is still unclear. "As a state government, we are now crisis-tested," said Finance Minister Monika Heinold (Greens). The coalition wants to talk about financing. "This morning, we also discussed intensively in the cabinet what climate change actually means for Schleswig-Holstein," she said. It was also about "what we still have to do in terms of coping with climate change, climate adaptation measures and the repair of damage that must be done after storms or storm surges".

Due to the storm surge, he expects damage of ten to twelve million euros for Kiel, said Kiel's Lord Mayor Ulf Kämpfer (SPD). Other municipalities are even more affected. Damage to the regional alone was in the high double-digit million range. Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens) offered the associations help with dike protection.

bbr/dpa