A severe storm surge hit the German North Sea coast and inland cities during the night. Hundreds of fire brigades were deployed. All information in the news blog.
The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) warned of the danger of a severe storm surge for the German North Sea coast on Sunday morning. The morning and afternoonflood will occur on the East Frisian coast, in the Weser and Elbe area 2 to 2.5 meters higher than the average high water. On the North Frisian coast, water levels can be 1.5 to 2 meters higher than the mean high tide. In the Hamburg Elbe area, the flood can even be 2.5 to 3 meters higher than the average flood. According to the BSH, there is a risk of storm surges until around 2:37 p.m.
Brandenburg: A dead man
A pedestrian was seriously injured by a falling election poster in Beelitz, Brandenburg, and died a little later. The poster fell on the man shortly after 10 p.m. on Saturday evening, said a spokesman for the police situation service on Sunday morning. The “BZ” (Online) reported first. The situation service was initially unable to confirm media reports of further injuries in connection with the poster. “Investigations into the cause are still ongoing,” said a spokesman.
Trees in Saxony overturned: road closures
Storm low “Nadia” caused trees to fall in many places in Saxony on Sunday. According to the traffic warning service, several roads were therefore closed in Saxon Switzerland. Rescue workers were also on duty in the Ore Mountains because of the storm damage. In Dresden, a pine tree fell into the overhead line of the tram. Traffic signs, billboards and scaffolding cladding were also blown away in the state capital, the fire brigade said. Police urged drivers to drive carefully. The storm should last until the evening.
Rail traffic in the morning still severely restricted
Because of the severe storm, rail traffic in the north and north-east of Germany was still affected on Sunday morning. The problems are expected to last until noon, Deutsche Bahn said. The ICE and IC trains were canceled on the section between Stralsund and the Baltic Sea resort of Binz. There were delays between Bremen and Hamburg because the section of the route was only single-track. Between Rostock and Hamburg as well as Berlin, passengers should expect short-term train cancellations and delays.
There were also delays and cancellations in regional traffic due to the storm damage. In many places, the railways cited trees that had fallen on the tracks as reasons – or faults in the overhead line
Bremen: walkers injured by tree
A pedestrian was hit and seriously injured by a falling tree in Bremen’s Bürgerpark during the severe storm. After being treated by an ambulance, he was taken to a hospital, as the fire department announced on Sunday. Read more about this here.
Hamburg: fish market flooded
A storm surge flooded the fish market in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district during the night. The apex was reached at around 12:17 a.m. at 2.84 meters above the mean high tide, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) on Sunday morning. Now the flood is back. The BSH had expected water levels in Hamburg to be up to 3 meters above mean high water.
In Dagebüll, waves hit a ferry terminal: A storm surge warning was in place for the North Sea coast. (Source: Bodo Marks/dpa)
Harz: narrow-gauge railway traffic stopped
The Harzer Schmalspurbahnen (HSB) almost completely stopped traffic on Sunday due to storm “Nadia”. The trains on the Brockenbahn, the Harzquerbahn and the Selketalbahn are standing still due to the weather, the railway company announced on its website. Only between Nordhausen and Ilfeld-Neanderklinik in Thuringia is still driven, it said. Already on Friday and Saturday there were no trains on the 1,141 meter high Brocken. A peak wind speed of around 130 kilometers per hour was measured there late on Saturday afternoon, according to the German Weather Service it was 125 kilometers per hour at night. “Nadia” is slowly withdrawing, it was said.
Hamburg: shipwreck on the Elbe
A barge got stuck under a bridge in the port of Hamburg. A police spokesman said on Saturday evening that the ship got stuck with the wheelhouse on the Freihafenelbbrücke and got stuck. According to initial reports, there were no injuries. There were two people on board the ship. The exact cause of the accident was initially unclear. It is possible that the captain misjudged the rising water level of the Elbe. The bridge is closed.
“The ship is stuck under the bridge. If the water continues to rise, there is a risk that it will be pushed under water and sink,” the spokesman continued. Therefore, tugs are now on their way to free the ship. The Freihafenelbbrücke from 1926 is considered a symbol of Hamburg. It crosses the North Elbe and is located on the northern border of the port area.
Because of the inflowing water, some cars had to be recovered by the fire brigade in the city on the Elbe. They had been trapped by the flood. The authorities had previously called on citizens to take vehicles out of the danger zones. Videos on Twitter showed flooding at the fish market and helpers from the DLRG positioning inflatable boats.
Rescuers from the DLRG drive along the flooded Hamburg fish market in a rubber dinghy: but they didn’t have to save anyone. (Source: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa)
Northern Germany: Rail traffic massively restricted
Because of the storm, there were massive problems in rail traffic in northern Germany. Long-distance traffic in Hamburg, Schleswig Holstein, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bremen was stopped for about 50 minutes, said a railway spokesman. He cited storm damage as the reason. According to the information, the ICE routes between Hamburg and Bremen and between Hamburg and Berlin and Schwerin were affected.
According to Deutsche Bahn, there are still train cancellations and delays in regional transport. Travelers and commuters should check before driving via the website, inform them via the app or by telephone whether their train is running as planned. It was therefore initially unclear when the trains would run again as planned. You have to wait for the night first, said the railway spokesman.
Storm also in Poland and the Czech Republic
A violent storm also caused serious damage in Poland. A 27-year-old died when a tree fell on his car on Sunday. Another person was injured in the accident in the northern Pomeranian Voivodeship. Thousands of firefighters deployed across the country. The forces cleared fallen trees from the streets and secured roofs. According to the authorities, around 680,000 households in Poland were without electricity due to damaged lines.
In the Czech Republic, too, fallen trees caused many fire brigade operations. More than 30,000 households were affected by power outages. There were delays and cancellations in rail traffic. In the low mountain ranges, the wind gusts reached hurricane force. The mountain rescue service advised against ski tours. The strong wind made it difficult to extinguish the fire in a warehouse in Mlada Boleslav, almost 50 kilometers north-east of Prague. More than a hundred firefighters battled the flames for hours. The property damage was estimated at the equivalent of more than 40 million.