Starkregen-Katastrophe in NRW - Helfer bei fast 4.000 Einsatzstellen in Köln im Einsatz | 14.07.2021

By Saturday morning (July 17, 2021), volunteers from the fire department, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), and other aid organizations had been deployed to a total of 3,750 storm-related incidents in the Cologne metropolitan area since Wednesday morning (July 14, 2021). The entire volunteer fire department, with around 380 personnel, was in continuous operation around the clock for three days. 225 members of the professional fire department were also deployed, supported by 150 personnel from various aid organizations and 50 personnel from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW). The operations were spread across the entire city, but the main focus was on Bickendorf, Junkersdorf, Vogelsang, Ehrenfeld, and Bocklemünd. For two people, help came too late on the night of Thursday; they died in their basements. Especially due to high-pressure water, the life of all residents is at risk if they simply enter the flooded basement. The fire department also had to respond to several fires where water-induced short circuits caused incipient fires. However, the completely flooded basements also posed a significant environmental hazard in some basements with oil heating systems. An entire heating oil tank on Bussardweg in Vogelsang was flooded and destroyed. The approximately 700 liters of heating oil stored there mixed with approximately 40,000 liters of rainwater, endangering the groundwater. The fire department, along with the hazardous materials units from fire stations 6, 8, and 5, as well as several firefighting teams, were on site to pump out the contaminated water and temporarily store it. The rescue services were completed by Saturday morning, and the Cologne Fire Department is currently deploying its own regional units to the disaster area in Erftstadt to support the local fire departments. Report: Lars Jäger © 2021 WupperVideo Tags: News, report, feature, reportage, video, film, news in film, television, TV, broadcasting, Panasonic, DVX200, 4K, UHD, WupperVideo, NonstopNews, reporting, police, fire department, volunteer fire department, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Wuppertal, Bergisches Land, Rhein-Sieg district, Bonn, professional, Canon, Manfrotto, RODE, Sennheiser