Overview

• As of Tuesday, Meerbusch activated an emergency ordinance matching Düsseldorf and Neuss that limits presence in the Rhine to ankle depth.
• Violations are treated as administrative offences with fines up to €1,000, enforced through intensified patrols by municipal officers and police.
• Authorities cite rising fatalities — ten Rhine deaths in NRW by end-July after 14 last year — and frequent rescues, including 25 'person in the Rhine' callouts in Meerbusch since January 2024.
• Police, DLRG and Wasserwacht are circulating shock images on social media to warn that currents, eddies, ship traffic and sudden drop-offs make the river treacherous.
• Düsseldorf also persuaded Google to relabel the popular 'Paradiesstrand' as 'Rheinstrand', while Cologne prepares a council vote on a ban for September 4 and Krefeld continues its review.