City of Braunschweig comments on the “tidal wave”

The Oker Dam in the Harz region reached its maximum capacity on Tuesday. The city administration announced that more water will now be released into the Oker via the overflow of the dam Braunschweig with. Instead of 16 cubic meters per second, 30 cubic meters per second are currently flowing into the river. It can currently be assumed that this value does not need to be increased further. “There is no longer any heavy rainfall forecast,” the city announced in the evening.

Contrary to several media reports, the city administration is not expecting a tidal wave but rather a “moderate rise in water levels”. Because of the threat of the Oker flood, the city of Braunschweig has closed several streets near the river.

Photo gallery

Fire brigade forces are trying to secure the town with sandbags after floodwaters from the Burlage-Langholter Tief, a tributary of the Leda, overflowed the dikes.Lars Penning/dpa

Floods and flooding of the Weser in the Weserbergland.U. Stamm/imago

Thuringia, Windehausen: A THW vehicle drives over a flooded street in the town.Christoph Reichwein/dpa

Saxony, Dresden: The people on the Elbe have to prepare for further rising water levels.Sebastian Kahnert/dpa

Koblenz: The Deutsches Eck with the equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm stands surrounded by the Rhine floodwaters, which reach their crest on the Middle Rhine.Thomas Frey/dpa

Saxony, Dresden: The floodwaters of the Elbe surround a traffic sign on the Terrassenufer.Sebastian Kahnert/dpa

A firefighter on a bicycle in a flooded street in Windehausen.Christoph Reichwein/dpa

Thuringia, Windehausen: Several streets in Heringen-Windehausen are also under water on Boxing Day.Christoph Reichwein/dpa

A cat seeks shelter from the flood on a roof of a house.Christoph Reichwein/dpa

North Rhine-Westphalia, Beverungen: A man sits in an inflatable boat and paddles to a house that is in the water.Friso Gentsch/dpa

Citizens living in flood areas are still called upon to take their own protective measures. In the evening, the city continued to assume that the flooding caused by the Oker and its tributaries was limited to the designated flood areas.

Floods in Germany: Entering Windehausen is prohibited

Days of continuous rain posed challenges for residents and emergency services in many regions of Germany over Christmas. In Rinteln, Lower Saxony, residents were evacuated on Tuesday morning. In Windehausen, Thuringia, people had to leave their houses and apartments on Christmas Day. The place was evacuated on Monday due to the critical situation. Of the almost 500 residents, an estimated 100 are still in the town, according to Matthias Marquardt, mayor of the town of Heringen, to which Windehausen belongs.

A ban on entering Windehausen was imposed on Tuesday afternoon. This was intended to prevent limited access for rescue workers and disaster tourists, said Marquardt. “The situation is currently still critical but stable.”

Heavy rain also in Berlin and Brandenburg: Fire brigade takes stock

The weather is currently humid in Berlin too. However, the heavy rain on the night of Boxing Day did not result in any major operations for the Berlin fire brigade. There were some weather-related operations, including in full basements, a fire department spokesman said when asked on Tuesday morning. But there was hardly any additional stress due to the rain.

After the heavy rainfall, the water levels in several sections of the rivers in Brandenburg have risen sharply. The State Environment Agency issued four flood warnings over the Christmas period.

Flooding of floodplain areas is to be expected in the Dahme river area from Golßen to Märkisch Buchholz. In the case of the Black Elster, the guidelines for alert level I for the Ortrand and Herzberg gauges are expected to be exceeded. In the Saxon part of the Black Elster catchment area, water levels have already partially exceeded the alarm level II guideline. Rising water levels are also expected at the Klein Bademeusel gauge on the Lausitzer Neiße near Forst due to the thaw since Christmas Eve. On the Oder, the State Environment Agency is expecting alert level I at the Eisenhüttenstadt gauge on Wednesday.

The German Weather Service (DWD) initially expected clouds and rain in some areas in Berlin and Brandenburg on Tuesday, but this should subside in the morning. Individual showers are possible again from afternoon to midnight. On Wednesday it could clear up at times, with light rain in regions in the late afternoon.

Severe weather warnings lifted

After all: After days of continuous rain, the DWD has lifted all of its severe weather warnings that were temporarily in effect for several federal states. The DWD announced at midday in Offenbach that the rain had eased or lost intensity. “No heavy rainfall is expected until further notice.”

Correction note: An earlier version of this article mentioned an expected “tidal wave” in Braunschweig. We have corrected this error.