When the weather goes mad

Following the heavy rainfall and flooding which left many dead in Germany, the severe weather returned to areas of Belgium, parts of London and New York and other areas in the USA. Philadelphia was inundated by floodwaters as Storm Ida left a trail of destruction in the Mid-Atlantic.
In the Belgian town of Dinant, countless cars were washed away, while the town of Namur in the province of the same name and other towns and villages were also flooded. Landslides were reported in Walloon-­Brabant, south of Brussels. As in Germany, the catastrophic weather in Belgium resulted in deaths. No news was available as to whether companies in the pet supplies sector had been affected, but Tom & Co. in Namur offered assistance on social media to pet owners affected by the flooding.
Storms and torrential rainfall also created traffic chaos in London. A number of roads, tube stations and a tunnel were closed due to flooding, as reported by the BBC among other media outlets. The Docklands Light Railway station in Stratford, east London, was submerged under floodwater.

Near the border with the Benelux countries, a flood destroyed numerous villages and swamped districts in Germany. The pet shop chain Fressnapf alone reported at least 18 locations affected by the flood, some of which suffered severe water damage. Sagaflor and Futterhaus also reported affected partner businesses.
In Geilenkirchen, the production facility and the Hommersche Mühle satellite warehouse of Parrot Paradise Wagner were flooded over an area of about 2 000 m². The pet food manufacturer Pro Pet, based in Kall, reported on its website in mid-July that the company could only be reached by telephone to a limited extent and that e-mails could not be answered in the usual short time. Most forwarding agencies were also unable to reach the company for several days. Furthermore, the company's shop is said to have been affected by the flood.

To stand by victims of the floods, several relief campaigns were set in motion. The Fressnapf initiative "Tierisch engagiert", for example, set up a donation fund and paid in 25 000 euros. Many other pet shops in non-affected areas started relief campaigns for the victims in the flooded areas. DIY stores distributed donations of…