The municipality of Bad Bayersoien proudly presents itself on its homepage “at the gateway to the Ammergau Alps and in the heart of the Pfaffenwinkel”. An attached photo illustrates the Bavarian landscape as the community looked before August 26th – before the violent storm. Lots of green, the Bayersoiener See, the colorful little country houses. But it’s no longer as idyllic as it is in this photo. Today, many roof trusses are hidden under tarps, while construction cranes line the landscape and pallets of bricks wait on the curb.
Since “Denis”, a severe storm with hail, hit the community, something has changed in the small town. And no matter where you go and look, there are traces of it everywhere.
Not far from the tourist information center, which is also hidden under a turquoise tarpaulin, is the museum in the Bierlinghaus. The building partly dates back to the 14th century. When the hail came, the historical exhibits had to be moved in no time, and the mayor also helped. “It took thousands of hours,” says Gisela Kieweg.
It was around 2 p.m. when the German Weather Service announced on August 26th that it could get uncomfortable in Bavaria. The storm front was already on its way from the edge of the Alps to the southeast of the Free State and headed for the community of around 1,300 residents in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district. There were also warnings about hail. The storm hit the region and left behind a debris field of broken glass, broken roof tiles, dented car bodies and dented grill lids. Not to mention the consequences for nature.
Bad Bayersoien, like Benediktbeuern in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district, is probably the most affected by this storm. “At 3:45 p.m. the sky darkened, and in 15 minutes the world changed completely,” remembers Kieweg. As the hailstones hit the ground, windows shatter and the grass surface looks like a golf course, only with a thousand holes. “The first thing I thought about was that hopefully no one was seriously injured by the fist-sized hailstones,” she says. But she is also worried about the homeowners who suffered damage; after all, the damage caused is immense.
Birgit Klöck was not insured against the hail damage, as were around a third of the residents of Bad Bayersoien. She is all the more grateful for the help she received from friends, acquaintances and even helpful strangers immediately after the storm.
(Photo: Felix Hamann)
384 houses in the village are damaged, and it’s not just the roofs that are affected. In old buildings in particular, the floors were affected by water seeping in, she says. Both the roof and the associated windows were destroyed by hail.
The Bavarian Insurance Chamber has received 17,000 claims so far, says Christian Krams, Head of Group Claims and Board Member of BavariaDirekt Versicherung AG. Many reports involve so-called major damage, meaning that the amount of damage is beyond the 100,000 euro mark. “We have over 430 of them alone,” he says. And although he has seen pretty much everything in his 20 years at the insurance chamber, such a magnitude is not an everyday occurrence for him either.
“Storms like this happen again and again, but the intensity has increased in recent years,” he says. The Pentecost weather in 2019 in the west of Munich last reached dimensions similar to that of Deep Denis, he says. He quickly became aware of this during the site visit.
“We sent all available employees to the region on Monday,” he says. The experts finally walked the streets and documented the damage. The insurance company has already processed 4,300 of these expert assignments, which means in plain language: the vast majority. In addition to the buildings, numerous vehicles were also damaged, 4,500 in number, although very few were worth repairing. “In many cases we have total vehicle losses,” he says.
Overall, the Bavarian Insurance Chamber expects that the amount of damage caused by this event alone will be up to 170 million euros. 80 percent of this relates to the damage to the buildings.
“Hail is a danger that should not be underestimated,” emphasizes Krams. These are balls made of ice that rush down from a huge height and therefore at a considerable speed. No car window or some roof tiles can withstand this. “Only 81 percent of Bavarian houses are insured against storms and hail,” warns Krams. That surprises him, after all, for most people their home is their largest asset.
But what do you do if you are not insured? Birgit Klöck lives not far from the museum and knows this feeling because, like about a third of the residents in the community, she was not insured. The hail also severely damaged her roof. That evening, friends, acquaintances and even helpful strangers pulled a tarpaulin over the roof. Some even canceled their vacation to support her and her husband. “Big thanks to everyone!” she says. And even if the noises when it rains are scary for her, moping is out of the question. “It doesn’t help, you can’t lose heart.”
As in previous days, repairs in Bad Bayersoien are in full swing. And the first successes are already evident. Almost half of the residential buildings, around 40 percent, have now been covered again. The mayor is confident: “The currently good weather is favoring the work. I hope that most of the work on the roofs can be completed before winter.” And yet she also knows that it will be months before everything goes back to the way it was before.