AFP UK

US climate envoy John Kerry warned Thursday that Beijing’s coal building spree could “undo” global capacity to meet environmental targets, after holding talks with top officials in China.

Tensions between Beijing and Washington have soared in recent months with the two sides trading barbs on China’s human rights record and its initial handling of the coronavirus.

Tackling climate change is among a handful of issues where the two sides had struck notes of harmony.

But Beijing has in recent months emphasised that environmental cooperation could be hurt by deteriorating Sino-US relations.

Kerry told journalists on Thursday evening that the United States has made it “clear that the addition of more coal plants represents a significant challenge to the efforts of the world to deal with the climate crisis.”

Chinese plans for new coal plants could “undo the capacity of the world to reach net-zero by 2050”, he said, adding that while they had “very constructive” talks he was also “very direct” on the topic.

Despite pledges to peak coal consumption before 2030, China brought 38.4 gigawatts of new coal-fired power into operation last year — more than three times what was brought on line globally.

China has challenged the United States to fix relations with Beijing in order to make progress on climate change.

But Kerry urged the Chinese government not to let environmental cooperation be affected by tensions between the world’s two biggest polluters, calling it a “global challenge”.

“It is essential… no matter what differences we have, that we have to address the climate crisis,” he said.

Foreign minister Wang Yi had told Kerry earlier in the visit that cooperation on global warming could not be disentangled from broader diplomacy between the two countries.

In a video call with the climate envoy, Wang accused Washington of a “major strategic miscalculation towards China”, according to the ministry statement.

“It is impossible for China-US climate cooperation to be elevated above the overall environment of China-US relations,” Wang said.

He added that “the ball is now in the United States’ court, and the US should stop seeing China as a threat and opponent”.

– ‘China can do more’ –

Kerry visited Japan earlier this week before travelling to the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin, in a tour aiming to drum up support for a major global summit to tackle pressing climate issues. 

The 26th edition of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties — COP26 — in Glasgow in November marks the biggest climate summit since the 2015 Paris negotiation.

Kerry said he plans to meet with his Chinese counterparts again before the summit, to push for stronger emission reduction commitments. 

The US envoy has repeatedly urged China to step up efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

“We have consistently said to China and other countries.. to do their best within their given capacity,” Kerry said Thursday.

“We think that China can do more.”

The country is the world’s current largest emitter of carbon dioxide, followed by the United States, which has historically emitted more than any other nation to date.

While Beijing has promised to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060, it continues to be heavily dependent on coal, which fuels nearly 60 percent of its energy consumption.

“We have an opportunity to make a positive impact in Glasgow,” Kerry said. “It really depends on the choices that China makes at this point.”

New Yorkers mopped up flooded homes and businesses and began removing fallen debris from crushed cars Thursday following record rainfall that caught much of the Big Apple by surprise.

Under piercing blue skies that belied the carnage of just a few hours earlier, shocked residents surveyed the damage of a chaotic night that left at least eight people dead.

“A ten-ton tree just feel on my car. My car’s crushed. It’s totaled,” Jonas Sigle told AFP as he eyed the wreckage outside his home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

“Wow, this was just unbelievable,” said his neighbor, Michael Price.

A short distance away, Metodija Mihajlov inspected the basement of his restaurant, which was flooded with three inches of water late Wednesday.

“When the rain started to get bad my guys called me and we decided to close the restaurant and turn off the electricity and everybody left,” he said.

“I’ve never seen that much rain ever,” added the 50-year-old. “It was like living in the jungle, like tropical rain.

“Luckily nothing was damaged. As soon as the rain stopped the water drained away,” Mihajlov told AFP.

In Brooklyn, Rebecca Stronger was mopping up water from the basement and first floors of her veterinary clinic. 

“We all show up, we all clean and we all get our job done,” she told AFP.

– ‘Hearts ache’ –

Record rainfall of 3.15 inches (80 millimeters) of rain in Central Park in just an hour broke a record set last month during Tropical Storm Henri.

Stronger said she expects more storms in the future as the surface layer of oceans warms due to climate change.

“Of course. Everybody knows (about) climate change. The world is exploding on so many different levels. I expect it to happen a lot,” she added.

The flooding reignited memories of Hurricane Sandy, a more powerful storm that knocked out power for much of Manhattan and flooded subways in 2012.

Subway services were halted late Wednesday but slowly began running again early Thursday.

Many residents posted videos on social media that showed water cascading down stairs and into apartments. 

The New York Police Department said that eight people had died. They were aged between two and 86 and were founded in flooded locations in Queens and The Bronx. 

“Our hearts ache for the lives lost in last night’s storm,” tweeted Mayor de Blasio, who declared a state of emergency, late Wednesday.

“Please keep them and their loved ones in your thoughts today.  They were our fellow New Yorkers and to their families, your city will be there for you in the days ahead,” he added.

US climate envoy John Kerry warned Thursday that Beijing’s coal building spree could “undo” global capacity to meet climate targets, after holding talks with top officials in China.

Tensions between Beijing and Washington have soared in recent months with the two sides trading barbs on China’s human rights record and its initial handling of the coronavirus.

Tackling climate change is among a handful of issues where the two sides had struck notes of harmony.

But Beijing has in recent months emphasised that environmental cooperation could be hurt by deteriorating Sino-US relations.

Kerry told journalists on Thursday evening that the United States has made it “clear that the addition of more coal plants represents a significant challenge to the efforts of the world to deal with the climate crisis.”

Chinese plans for new coal plants could “undo the capacity of the world to reach net-zero by 2050”, he said, adding that they had “very constructive” talks but he was also “very direct” on the topic.

Despite pledges to peak coal consumption before 2030, China brought 38.4 gigawatts of new coal-fired power into operation last year — more than three times what was brought on line globally.

China has challenged the United States to fix relations with Beijing in order to make progress on climate change.

But Kerry urged Beijing not to let environmental cooperation be affected by tensions between the world’s two biggest polluters.

“Climate is not ideological,” he said. “It is a global challenge.”

“It is essential… no matter what differences we have, that we have to address the climate crisis.”

Foreign minister Wang Yi had told Kerry earlier in the visit that cooperation on global warming could not be disentangled from broader diplomacy between the two countries.

In a video call with the United States climate envoy, Wang accused Washington of a “major strategic miscalculation towards China”, according to the ministry statement.

“It is impossible for China-US climate cooperation to be elevated above the overall environment of China-US relations,” Wang said.

He added that “the ball is now in the United States’ court, and the US should stop seeing China as a threat and opponent”.

– ‘China can do more’ –

At an earlier virtual meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Thursday, Kerry said “there is no way for the world to solve the climate crisis without the full engagement and commitment” of China, according to a US State Department spokesperson. 

The US envoy has repeatedly urged China, the world’s largest polluter, to step up its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

“We have consistently said to China and other countries.. to do there best within their given capacity,” Kerry said.

“We think that China can do more.”

China is the world’s current largest emitter of carbon dioxide, followed by the United States, which has historically emitted more than any other country to date.

While China has promised to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060, the country continues to be heavily dependent on coal, which fuels nearly 60 percent of its energy consumption.

The remnants of Hurricane Ida triggered spectacular flash flooding and a rare state of emergency in New York City overnight into Thursday, killing at least eight people in what was called a historic weather event.

Streets turned into rivers while water cascaded down subway platforms, flooding tracks, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority effectively shut down services.

“I’m 50 years old and I’ve never seen that much rain ever,” said Metodija Mihajlov whose basement of his Manhattan restaurant was flooded with three inches of water.

“It was like living in the jungle, like tropical rain. Unbelievable. Everything is so strange this year,” he told AFP.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled at LaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where video showed a terminal inundated by rainwater.

Flooding closed major roads across multiple boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens.

Ida slammed into the southern state of Louisiana over the weekend, bringing severe flooding and tornadoes as it blazed a trail of destruction north.

New York state governor Kathy Hochul declared an emergency as the remnants of the storm caused massive flooding in the country’s financial and cultural capital, leaving the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens badly hit. 

The New York City victims ranged from the ages of 2 to 86, police said. They were found at various homes in Queens and Brooklyn.

New Yorkers woke to beautiful blue skies Thursday as the city slowly edged back to life. Residents moved fallen tree branches from roads as subway services resumed.

But around 98,000 homes in Pennsylvania, 60,000 in New Jersey and 40,000 in New York were without power, according to the website poweroutage.us.

State governor Phil Murphy also declared a state of emergency in neighboring New Jersey, where CNN reported at least one person was killed in the city of Passaic, bringing the confirmed death toll from Ida to 16.

“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet as he declared a state of emergency in the city.

The city earlier issued a rare flash flood emergency warning urging residents to move to higher ground. 

As footage showed cars submerged on streets across the city, authorities urged residents not drive on flooded roads.

“You do not know how deep the water is and it is too dangerous,” the New York branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet.

The US Open was halted ass howling wind and rain blew under the corners of the Louis Armstrong Stadium roof.

The NWS recorded 3.15 inches (80 millimeters) of rain in Central Park in just an hour — beating a record set just last month during Storm Henri.

It is rare for such storms to strike America’s northeastern seaboard and comes as the surface layer of oceans warms due to climate change.

The warming is causing cyclones to become more powerful and carry more water, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities, scientists say.

“Significant and life-threatening flash flooding is likely from the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England,” the NWS said in a bulletin, adding that three to eight inches of rain could drench the region through Thursday.

In Annapolis, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the US capital, a tornado ripped up trees and toppled electricity poles.

– Lingering tornado threat –

The NWS warned the threat of tornadoes would linger, with tornado watches in effect for parts of southern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and southern New York.

“This is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly flash flooding ongoing in Somerset County, as well as others in the area,” the NWS account for the Philadelphia metropolitan area tweeted late Wednesday, along with a video of a car trapped in churning water.

Ida is expected to continue steaming north and bring heavy rainfall on Thursday to New England.

US President Joe Biden is due to travel Friday to Louisiana, where Ida destroyed buildings and left more than a million homes without power.

The remnants of Hurricane Ida triggered spectacular flash flooding and a rare state of emergency in New York City overnight into Thursday and killed at least eight people in what was called a historic weather event.

Streets turned into rivers while subway stations were also flooded, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported services were effectively shut down.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled at LaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where video showed a terminal inundated by rainwater.

Flooding closed major roads across multiple boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens.

Ida slammed into the southern state of Louisiana over the weekend, bringing severe flooding and tornadoes as it blazed a trail of destruction north.

New York state governor Kathy Hochul declared an emergency as the remnants of the storm caused massive flooding in the country’s financial and cultural capital, leaving the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens badly hit. 

Police did not say how the eight deaths in the city occurred.

State governor Phil Murphy has also declared a state of emergency in neighboring New Jersey, where CNN reported at least one person was killed in the city of Passaic, bringing the confirmed death toll from Ida to 16.

“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet as he declared a state of emergency in the city.

As footage showed cars submerged on streets across the city, authorities urged residents not drive on flooded roads.

“You do not know how deep the water is and it is too dangerous,” the New York branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet.

The NWS recorded 3.15 inches (80 millimeters) of rain in Central Park in just an hour — the area’s wettest hour on record.

The city earlier issued a rare flash flood emergency warning urging residents to move to higher ground. 

“Significant and life-threatening flash flooding is likely from the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England,” the NWS said in a bulletin, adding that three to eight inches of rain could drench the region through Thursday.

In Annapolis, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the US capital, a tornado ripped up trees and toppled electricity poles.

– Lingering tornado threat –

The NWS warned the threat of tornadoes would linger, with tornado watches in effect for parts of southern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and southern New York.

“This is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly flash flooding ongoing in Somerset County, as well as others in the area,” the NWS account for the Philadelphia metropolitan area tweeted late Wednesday, along with a video of a car trapped in churning water.

Ida is expected to continue steaming north and bring heavy rainfall on Thursday to New England, which was also hit by a rare tropical storm in late August. 

US President Joe Biden is due to travel Friday to Louisiana, where Ida destroyed buildings and left more than a million homes without power. 

Hurricanes are common in the southern United States, but scientists have warned of a rise in storm activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

At least eight people have died in New York after the city was inundated by flash flooding, police said Thursday, as Storm Ida wreaked havoc on the northeast United States, forcing flight cancellations and state of emergency declarations.

Ida slammed into the southern state of Louisiana over the weekend, bringing severe flooding and tornadoes as it blazed a trail of destruction north.

New York state governor Kathy Hochul declared an emergency as the remnants of the storm caused massive flooding in the country’s financial and cultural capital, leaving the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens badly hit. 

Police did not say how the eight deaths in the city occurred.

State governor Phil Murphy has also declared a state of emergency in neighboring New Jersey, where CNN reported at least one person was killed in the city of Passaic, bringing the confirmed death toll from Ida to 16.

“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet as he declared a state of emergency in the city.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at nearby LaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where video showed a terminal inundated by rainwater.

Flooding has closed major roads across multiple boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens.

Streets were transformed into rivers while the city’s subway stations were also flooded, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported services were effectively shut down.

As footage showed cars submerged on streets across the city, authorities urged residents not drive on flooded roads.

“You do not know how deep the water is and it is too dangerous,” the New York branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet.

The NWS recorded 3.15 inches (80 millimeters) of rain in Central Park in just an hour — the area’s wettest hour on record.

The city earlier issued a rare flash flood emergency warning urging residents to move to higher ground. 

“Significant and life-threatening flash flooding is likely from the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England,” the NWS said in a bulletin, adding that three to eight inches of rain could drench the region through Thursday.

In Annapolis, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the US capital, a tornado ripped up trees and toppled electricity poles.

– Lingering tornado threat –

The NWS warned the threat of tornadoes would linger, with tornado watches in effect for parts of southern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and southern New York.

“This is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly flash flooding ongoing in Somerset County, as well as others in the area,” the NWS account for the Philadelphia metropolitan area tweeted late Wednesday, along with a video of a car trapped in churning water.

Ida is expected to continue steaming north and bring heavy rainfall on Thursday to New England, which was also hit by a rare tropical storm in late August. 

US President Joe Biden is due to travel Friday to Louisiana, where Ida destroyed buildings and left more than a million homes without power. 

Hurricanes are common in the southern United States, but scientists have warned of a rise in storm activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

At least seven people have died in New York after the city was inundated by flash flooding, police said Thursday, as Storm Ida wreaked havoc on the northeast United States, forcing flight cancellations and state of emergency declarations.

Ida slammed into the southern state of Louisiana over the weekend, bringing severe flooding and tornadoes as it blazed a trail of destruction north.

New York state governor Kathy Hochul declared an emergency as the remnants of the storm caused massive flooding in the country’s financial and cultural capital, leaving the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens badly hit. 

Police did not say how the seven deaths in the city occurred.

State governor Phil Murphy has also declared a state of emergency in neighboring New Jersey, where CNN reported at least one person was killed in the city of Passaic, bringing the confirmed death toll from Ida to 15.

“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet as he declared a state of emergency in the city.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at nearby LaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where video showed a terminal inundated by rainwater.

Flooding has closed major roads across multiple boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens.

Streets were transformed into rivers while the city’s subway stations were also flooded, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported services were effectively shut down.

As footage showed cars submerged on streets across the city, authorities urged residents not drive on flooded roads.

“You do not know how deep the water is and it is too dangerous,” the New York branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet.

The NWS recorded 3.15 inches (80 millimeters) of rain in Central Park in just an hour — the area’s wettest hour on record.

The city earlier issued a rare flash flood emergency warning urging residents to move to higher ground. 

“Significant and life-threatening flash flooding is likely from the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England,” the NWS said in a bulletin, adding that three to eight inches of rain could drench the region through Thursday.

In Annapolis, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the US capital, a tornado ripped up trees and toppled electricity poles.

– Lingering tornado threat –

The NWS warned the threat of tornadoes would linger, with tornado watches in effect for parts of southern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and southern New York.

“This is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly flash flooding ongoing in Somerset County, as well as others in the area,” the NWS account for the Philadelphia metropolitan area tweeted late Wednesday, along with a video of a car trapped in churning water.

Ida is expected to continue steaming north and bring heavy rainfall on Thursday to New England, which was also hit by a rare tropical storm in late August. 

US President Joe Biden is due to travel Friday to Louisiana, where Ida destroyed buildings and left more than a million homes without power. 

Hurricanes are common in the southern United States, but scientists have warned of a rise in storm activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

New Yorkers were inundated by heavy rain and flash flooding early Thursday as Storm Ida wreaked havoc on the northeast United States, forcing flight cancellations and state of emergency declarations. 

Ida slammed into the southern state of Louisiana over the weekend, bringing severe flooding and tornadoes as it blazed a trail of destruction north.

New York governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency as the remnants of the storm caused massive flooding in the country’s financial and cultural capital, leaving the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens badly hit.

“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet as he declared a state of emergency in the city.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at nearby LaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where video showed a terminal inundated by rainwater.

Flooding has closed major roads across multiple boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens.

Streets were transformed into rivers while the city’s subway stations were also flooded, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported services were effectively shut down.

As footage showed cars submerged on streets across the city, authorities urged residents not drive on flooded roads.

“You do not know how deep the water is and it is too dangerous,” the New York branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet.

The NWS recorded 3.15 inches (80 millimeters) of rain in Central Park in just an hour — the area’s wettest hour on record.

The city earlier issued a rare flash flood emergency warning urging residents to move to higher ground. 

“Significant and life-threatening flash flooding is likely from the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England,” the NWS said in a bulletin, adding that three to eight inches of rain could drench the region through Thursday.

State governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in neighboring New Jersey, where CNN reported at least one person was killed by the flooding in the city of Passaic, bringing the death toll from Ida to eight.

In Annapolis, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the US capital, a tornado ripped up trees and toppled electricity poles.

– Lingering tornado threat –

The NWS warned the threat of tornadoes would linger, with tornado watches in effect for parts of southern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and southern New York.

“This is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly flash flooding ongoing in Somerset County, as well as others in the area,” the NWS account for the Philadelphia metropolitan area tweeted late Wednesday, along with a video of a car trapped in churning water.

Ida is expected to continue steaming north and bring heavy rainfall on Thursday to New England, which was also hit by a rare tropical storm in late August. 

US President Joe Biden is due to travel Friday to Louisiana, where Ida destroyed buildings and left more than a million homes without power. 

Hurricanes are common in the southern United States, but scientists have warned of a rise in storm activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

New Yorkers were inundated by heavy rain and flash flooding early Thursday as Storm Ida wreaked havoc on the northeast United States, forcing flight cancellations and state of emergency declarations. 

Ida slammed into the southern state of Louisiana over the weekend, bringing severe flooding and tornadoes as it blazed a trail of destruction north.

New York governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency as the remnants of the storm caused massive flooding in the country’s financial and cultural capital, leaving the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens badly hit.

“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet as he declared a state of emergency in the city.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at nearby Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports and flooding has closed major roads across multiple boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens.

Streets were transformed into rivers while the city’s subway stations were also flooded, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported service would be effectively shut down.

As footage showed cars submerged on streets across the city, authorities urged residents not drive on flooded roads.

“You do not know how deep the water is and it is too dangerous,” the New York branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet. “Turn Around Don’t Drown.”

The city earlier issued a rare flash flood emergency warning urging residents to move to higher ground. 

“Significant and life-threatening flash flooding is likely from the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England,” the NWS said in a bulletin, adding that three to eight inches of rain could drench the region through Thursday.

State governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in neighboring New Jersey, where CNN reported at least one person was killed by the flooding in the city of Passaic, bringing the death toll from Ida to eight.

In Annapolis, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the US capital, a tornado ripped up trees and toppled electricity poles.

– Lingering tornado threat –

The NWS warned the threat of tornadoes would linger, with tornado watches in effect for parts of southern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and southern New York.

“This is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly flash flooding ongoing in Somerset County, as well as others in the area,” the NWS account for the Philadelphia metropolitan area tweeted late Wednesday, along with a video of a car trapped in churning water.

Ida is expected to continue steaming north and bring heavy rainfall on Thursday to New England, which was also hit by a rare tropical storm in late August. 

US President Joe Biden is due to travel Friday to Louisiana, where Ida destroyed buildings and left more than a million homes without power. 

Hurricanes are common in the southern United States, but scientists have warned of a rise in storm activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

Instead of the shouts of noisy children, the halls of the primary school in the German town of Dernau are filled with the deafening sound of a dozen drills.

The workers on site are an army of unpaid volunteers who have taken on the colossal task of rebuilding towns that were devastated by deadly floods in western Germany seven weeks ago that washed away homes, offices and infrastructure.

Some are locals, or helpers at public organisations like the Red Cross or the fire brigade, but many others have travelled in from across the country, helping to clear up debris by day and sleeping in makeshift camps by night.

Although the government has pledged 30 billion euros ($35 billion) to fund the reconstruction work, residents say most of the help they receive comes from private people like the volunteers in Dernau.

With less than a month to go before general elections, politicians are “having a mud fight, but the real mud fight is here — and they’re not,” says one volunteer, Christine Jahn.

Before the floods, Dernau was a picturesque town, framed by steep valley slopes covered in vineyards. Today, entire streets in the worst-hit areas are no longer inhabitable.

The school can no longer be used either: its pupils are now taking their classes elsewhere.

Inside the school, volunteers are working to strip flood-damaged walls, chipping away at a mural painted by the schoolchildren depicting the globe.

Two of those on site are Rebekka, 22, and her mother Judith, 52, who are working at the site together for the first time this week. 

The end of the summer holidays in Germany has seen the number of volunteers ebb, but with more time to spare now her university exams are over, “I can still do my bit,” Rebekka says.

Volunteers are essential to the clear-up, says Judith. “It’s just faster to come here and get it done.”

– ‘Less babbling please’ –

The mustering point for the volunteers is a short drive outside Dernau, in the shadow of a hulking factory of sweets-maker Haribo.

Some volunteers sleep here in tents and are provided with food, water, and the equipment they need to work in the flooded towns. 

Jahn, 66, is in her last week at the camp, having come hundreds of miles from the east of Germany soon after the disaster struck.

A former construction worker, she started off “clearing mud” and “digging” wine bottles out of flooded cellars.

“I met some young people in the first three days and after that we always agreed to meet up each morning,” Jahn says. 

Now she is seeing to it that volunteers are well provided for, making coffee and sandwiches for hundreds. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will on Friday visit the flood-stricken region for the second time.

But concrete help from politicians has been slow to arrive, according to Jahn. 

“I want less babbling and more getting on with it, so that the money arrives without bureaucracy.”

– ‘Our institutions failed’ –

At the town’s former train station, a quaint building with red-lacquered timber beams, another volunteer, Daniel, was taking delivery of bottles of water.

The station has been turned into a supplies shop called “Tante Emma” (“Auntie Emma’s”) that is stocked by donations, providing food, essentials and tools to local residents to help them repair their lives. 

The shop entrance is piled high with nails, screws, and bottles of water behind a makeshift petrol pump. 

One of several to manage the store, Daniel had come to the area with friends five weeks ago and decided to stay. 

“I have a new contract in a hospital from December 1, but until then I have time,” says the 29-year-old careworker.

“Without volunteers nothing here would work,” says Daniel, “our institutions have completely failed.”

“The longer ago the floods were, the more we need help,” he says, urging more people to provide support.

Marita, 78, a resident of Dernau forced to leave by the disaster, says: “We don’t get much from the state.

“Most of it comes from private people and donations,” she says.

While her house is being repaired, Marita has moved in with her daughter two hours away in Mainz.

She plans to move back one day. “This is where our friends are, where we grew up and we’ll continue living here.”