WCK Responds to Historic Flooding in Germany
Unprecedented rainfall across Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium caused massive destruction this week, killing close to 200 people and leaving tens of thousands evacuated from their homes. As the water subsides, communities are grappling with the incredible damage left behind. Many families lost everything they own, and thousands more are still without access to water and electricity.
The state of Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany was hit the hardest. WCK’s Sam and Melissa touched down this weekend to begin to assess the damage and identify areas where we could support. Beginning in the district of Ahrweiler, we’ve partnered with three local food trucks to serve fresh, hot meals to impacted families as well as crews working on clean up. Ahrweiler is located along the Rhine river south of Cologne.
On our first day of meal service today, the WCK Relief Team met Heike Lingen and her family. They live in the community just beyond the wall shown above, which completely flooded. Currently they have no water, electricity, or working bathrooms. Heike picked up an extra meal to take back to her 91 year-old father.
WCK’s Melissa also met Sarah today. She has stepped up to help clean up the home of a friend. Sarah told us this was her first meal of the day, so we packed up some extras for her to take back to others.
To provide people with hot, nourishing meals, WCK food truck partners are powered by generators. With no electricity, families are currently unable to communicate with loved ones, so we set up a small charging station using the generator so members of the community could get enough battery to reach others.
The WCK Relief Team is continuing to work with local communities to support needs for fresh meals. The situation is evolving quickly, so to stay up-to-date on our efforts, follow WCK on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
