After the record flood, the immense extent of the damage in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is becoming clear. Hundreds of emergency services are busy cleaning up along the coast. Politics is required.
As the eastern storm subsides, the water is after the Record flooding has now fallen back to normal levels. Most of the streets are clear. The emergency services are in constant use, pumping water from cellars and street depressions, securing walls and buildings and repairing storm damage. But reconstruction and repairs could take weeks and months.
A storm had pushed the water from the Baltic Sea against beaches and cliffs with hurricane-force winds on Friday and Saturday night, causing exceptionally high water levels. According to initial estimates, in Schleswig-Holstein alone there will be damage in the three-digit million range. People there and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are now hoping for help from politicians.
Further information
In many places the full extent of the damage is becoming visible. The Interior Ministry assumes costs will be in the three-digit million range. more
Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Günther promises help
Schleswig-Holstein’s state government is discussing consequences and relief measures at a special cabinet meeting today. Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) had promised support to the affected communities. He wants to inform about the results of the discussions in the early evening together with Finance Minister Monika Heinold (Greens) and Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack (CDU).
More than 35 boats sank – millions in damages in the Olympic harbor in Kiel
According to the city’s estimates, the storm caused damage worth tens of millions of euros on the Kiel beaches and in the Schilksee Olympic port. From Tuesday onwards, sunken yachts in Schilksee will be recovered using a floating crane, a city spokeswoman said on Monday. Mayor Ulf Kampf (SPD) spoke on Sunday of a disaster and more than 35 sunken boats. Many more were damaged. Hamburg-based Pantaenius yacht insurance alone expects 400 yachts to be damaged or sunk. “At the hotspots, 30 percent of them are total losses,” said sales manager Dirk Hilcken on Monday in Kiel. He estimates that around 2,000 yachts along the entire German Baltic Sea coast fell victim to the storm surge.
Ostholstein district: Damage probably in the double-digit million range
In many municipalities in the Ostholstein district, the amount of damage cannot yet be quantified, said Fehmarn’s tourism chief Oliver Behncke. “We estimate the amount of damage to the public infrastructure alone to be in the double-digit million range,” said Behncke. In order to get an overview, the island of Fehmarn was flown over with a drone on Monday. Only then did the full extent of the damage become clear. “We have massive bank loss around the island, at least three larger campsites were massively flooded and some still are,” he said. A 33-year-old woman also died in the storm on Fehmarn when a falling tree hit her car. The storm surge also caused serious damage in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligenhafen. In the marina, jetties could not withstand the forces of nature and fell apart, said Stephan Karschnick, the municipality’s deputy mayor. He was concerned about the stability of the dikes. “They held, but the dike bases are now exposed,” said Karschnick. “If there is another storm in the next few days, the dikes could give in and break.” The mayor of Scharbeutz, Bettina Schäfer, also expects damage “certainly in the millions”.
Power supply largely restored in Schleswig
Schleswig is now increasingly returning to normality. The city announced on Monday that the municipal utilities are working on bringing the remaining households affected by the shutdowns back online. In the city on the Schlei, all road closures have now been lifted. For safety reasons, the Königswiesen and the Schleipromenade remain closed until further notice. Water pollution such as oil films will be assessed in the next few days.
2.27 meters – water level in Flensburg reaches century mark
Even in the Flensburg port area, which was severely affected by the floods, most of the electricity is flowing again. “However, it may be that individual households do not yet have electricity,” said a spokesman for the municipal utilities on Monday. This could be the case after problems caused by water. In Flensburg, the Baltic Sea exceeded the century mark on the night of the flood. The water level rose to 2.27 meters above the mean water level. In 1904, 2.23 meters were measured.
Economics Minister Claus Ruhe Madsen (l.) in Timmendorfer Strand: “Get quick help in place.”
Politicians call for “long-term strategies”
The Schleswig-Holstein Economics Minister Claus Ruhe Madsen (CDU) emphasized on Sunday that long-term strategies were needed to make the coast more resilient. The Schleswig-Holstein SPD chairwoman Serpil Midyatli, who is also deputy federal chairwoman of her party, called for a support fund from the state: “Whether it’s full basements, flooding in the city centers, damage to ports and beaches – the municipalities are allowed to help deal with the devastating consequences of the flood Don’t be left alone.” It is particularly important to strengthen disaster protection in the Ministry of the Interior, said FDP parliamentary group leader Christopher Vogt. “The 15 positions announced by the state government must now finally be filled so that our state can be even better prepared for such disasters in the future.”
SSW state chief Christian Dirschauer and Bundestag member Stefan Seidler called for an honest balance sheet, quick help and structural reforms on Monday. Blue light organizations and volunteers have done incredible things, but they also needed more communication and help from their communities. Dirschauer said that updated situation reports and information about road closures or the procurement of sandbags were often missing on municipal websites. People were largely left to their own devices because there were no preventive flood protection measures in many places on the Baltic Sea, said Seidler.
Further information
Flensburg Mayor Geyer regrets the lack of communication on the night of the Baltic Sea storm surge. Discussions with residents are planned. more
Backhaus warns: Do not build on flood areas
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Environment Minister Till Backhaus got an idea of the situation in Wieck am Darß on Sunday. “Our sympathy is especially in Schleswig-Holstein. The damage there is much, much higher,” said the SPD politician. “We were lucky in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; our coastal defense systems held up. I would like to thank all the emergency services.” Coastal and flood protection remains a permanent task that also requires the federal government, Backhaus added. But he also made an urgent appeal to districts and municipalities: areas at risk of flooding should no longer be built on. An initial assessment of the storm surge damage will be presented to the MV cabinet on Tuesday.
MV Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus visited the broken dike section in Wieck am Darß at the weekend. He demanded that flood areas no longer be allowed to be built on.
It is obvious that there is considerable damage in coastal towns such as Sassnitz on Rügen or Usedom. In addition, huge amounts of sand were washed into the sea from beaches and dunes. These losses would have to be compensated for with targeted flushing. He will therefore immediately ask the responsible Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) for additional funds for coastal protection.
20-meter ship sank in Greifswald harbor
A 20 meter long ship sank in the sailing harbor in Greifswald due to the storm surge. The Greifswald fire department said emergency services secured and moored the ship on Monday morning. The power supply was apparently interrupted at the weekend due to the high water level. As a result, the pumps failed and the ship filled up. When the fire brigade arrived, only the upper deck was still sticking out of the water.
In Wieck am Darß, a hinterland dike broke in two places on Saturday afternoon. In the end, a total of around a hundred emergency services managed to rescue houses in Wieck and also to seal the damaged dike with sandbags. Backhaus said it is not a coastal defense system, but rather an agricultural dike. There was never any danger to the life and limb of the people there.
In Ahrenshoop on the Darß, the storm surge tore away large parts of the sandy beach, as well as in Breege on Rügen. In Stahlbrode between Stralsund and Greifswald, port facilities and ships lying there were massively damaged. Mayor Thomas Pauketat estimated on Monday. “The damage is probably in the millions.” The White Fleet, as the operator of the Rügen ferry between Stahlbrode and Glewitz, declared the season to be over early “due to massive storm damage”. In Wismar, the flood flooded streets and parking lots. The level rose to 1.55 meters above normal. In Sassnitz, the water washed away floor panels of the beach promenade.
Further information
Dikes are being raised in many places. Interactive maps of the North and Baltic Sea coasts show whether this is enough now and in the future. more
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