Laschet, who leads one of the states hardest hit by the historic deluge, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), told a special session of the regional legislature that victims could count on “solidarity”.
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Laschet said Germany’s 16 state leaders and the federal government were well on their way to hammering out a relief package for afflicted areas.
He added that NRW had not faced the need to rebuild thousands of destroyed homes at once since World War II and would appoint an official to manage the reconstruction effort and improve disaster warning systems.
The costs are to be equally shared between the federal government and the states, according to draft conclusions of a meeting of top political officials to be held on Tuesday reported in German media.
Laschet’s Christian Democrats are leading in the polls ahead of the September 26th election although he has faced criticism for his handling of the catastrophe.
Government officials have vowed to learn lessons from the tragedy and improve the country’s disaster warning systems, including through SMS alerts and wider use of sirens.
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