On September 1, the Central bank of Germany said that the institution’s building was filled with damaged banknotes worth more than 50 million euros ($59 million) after large-scale floods in July. The institution had to urgently dry the banknotes. AP writes about this.
The German Federal Bank said that individuals and banks handed over banknotes soaked in water and partially stained with oil and dirt. The damaged money is dried in a special center in the city of Mainz. After drying, the damaged banknotes are smoothed, checked and counted. The central bank noted that it is important to process wet bills quickly, before they stick together and “turn into concrete.” Specialists check the authenticity of the banknotes and the size of their damage, and then compensate the owners for the lost amount, without charging an additional fee.
On average, damaged banknotes worth 40 million euros arrive in the center of Mainz every year. In 2021, in the period from mid-July to the end of August, the organization accepted banknotes with a total value of 51 million euros from flood-affected areas in West Germany. Germans still use cash more often than other Europeans.
More than 180 people were killed in Germany and hundreds were injured as a result of flooding on July 14 and 15. A heavy downpour turned small streams of water into raging torrents, damaging houses, bridges and cars.
