Community Paints on Soon-to-be-Demolished Flood-Damaged Building in Germany's Ahr Valley

Community members in Germany’s Ahr Valley painted messages of solidarity on a soon-to-be-demolished home in Dernau, Rhineland-Palatinate, on October 3.

Rebecca Arnoldy-Heimansfeld told Storyful the home the community painted belonged to her parents. She grew up in the house but the property is now uninhabitable due to flood damage from heavy rain over the summer.

The community received temporary government funding to rebuild, but some places were too damaged, Arnoldy-Heimansfeld said. As many as 70,000 volunteers came to help flood victims clear out their houses and offer other assistance, according to local reports.

“[The home] is being demolished. So I started painting it for myself and everyone else. But then so many volunteers from all over Germany and abroad came to us,” said Arnoldy-Heimansfeld.

Arnoldy-Heimansfeld has been documenting the volunteers’ efforts to uplift
the community on her TikTok page.

Among the phrases written on the house are “Every 11 minutes a helper falls in love with the Ahr Valley” and “Thanks to all helpers.” Credit: Rebecca Arnoldy-Heimansfeld via Storyful