RTL's Dany Rasqué went to Müllerthal on Monday morning and talked to the people affected by last week's deluge, finding that while people are generally distraught, a lot of them remain optimistic and in good spirits and try to tackle their new situation one step at a time.
It was a weekend Müllerthal residents and other people from the area aren't likely to forget anytime soon. Clean-up efforts started on Friday, but a final cost could still not be put on the damage caused by last week's storm, because the scope of the destruction still isn't completely known.
The destruction
Rita Stoque, the owner of the now-destroyed Hotel Cigalon in Müllerthal, is being helped by the army in carrying out the clean-up efforts. The hotel is buzzing with people trying to help out, trying not to be too aware of the mountain of work still ahead of them. Stoque expects the damage to be in the millions; her insurance company is currently evaluating the destruction to paint a clearer picture.
People help out at Hotel Cigalon. / © RTL Mobile Reporter
On the nearby camping site, just a couple of hundred metres away from the hotel, the destruction is just as bad. They need heavy machinery to clear the area of debris. While work is also being carried out here, the camping owners dread the administrative hurdles out in place by insurance companies.
Susanna Spaus would like to see less paper work and more empathy from insurance companies.
Chamber commission: Soil sealing is a big problem
On Monday, a Luxembourg parliamentary commission addressed the flood in a meeting. They identified soil sealing as one of the biggest problems. Soil sealing occurs when the ground is blocked with streets, buildings and concrete, and water can not drain through but instead floods the area because it has no where to go.
Municipal building plans say that nothing can be built in the immediate area next to a river to allow rivers to carry more water if they have to. Water ways are to be re-naturalized in case they are currently running over a concrete basin.
After the Vallée de l'Ernz was flooded around two years ago, the water administration commissioned several studies to determine which parts of the country are most at risk. The re-naturalization process is due to start after the results of these studies are out towards the end of September.
Müllerthal-Trail to reopen in four weeks
However, despite the destruction, good news reached RTL from Müllerthal. The Müllerthal hiking trail could reopen in as little as four weeks time with bypasses in some areas, Sandra Bertholet, head of the regional tourist office said.
The trail infrastructure is badly damages, more than 100 wooden footpaths have been flushed away, in total around 2,000 metres. Stairs and signs have disappeared. Hundreds of metres of dry-stone walls are also gone. However, they can be rebuilt rather quickly and easily.
The cost of the damage has not yet been estimated.
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