BMW and Porsche donate $4 million to flooding relief effort in Germany

The past fortnight has seen unprecedented flooding in Germany and its surrounding countries, leaving thousands of people without homes and hundreds missing – while the death toll has now surpassed 180.

To assist with emergency aid in the affected regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Upper Bavaria, BMW and Porsche have each made sizeable financial donations to help rescue organisations in the area, totalling €2.5million (AU$4m).

BMW’s donation is the largest of the two, making €1.5m (AU$2.4m) available to local rescue groups, which will help to provide targeted assistance in the worst-affected areas, and also offering resources from its plants in Munich, Landshut, Dingolfing, Regensburg and Leipzig to emergency services.

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Porsche’s contribution to the relief comes from €1m (AU$1.6m) in funding to local aid services for flood victims and rescue crews, as well as also appealing to its own employees to make private donations to support those affected.

As flooding has affected the village of Nürburg, the nearby world-famous Nürburgring circuit has been opened as a hub for support services working to assist those affected in the area, with Porsche chairman Oliver Blume saying the motorsport community has rallied around the region.

“We are in close contact with our friends and partners,” said Blume.

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“We know that the situation there is desperate. Many have been affected themselves or are volunteering as relief workers. So it is all the more important we pull together now.

“Our motorsport colleagues took emergency generators and other relief supplies to the Eifel region as soon as the news broke, for example. Our donations will now provide additional help to alleviate some of the suffering.”

Bridge to Gantry, a forum and news site dedicated to the Nürburgring, reports a collection point has been set up at the circuit for clothes and homeware while the local council of Adenau has opened an account for donations to assist with recovery services.