Dozens of operations for fire brigades: Heavy thunderstorms in the Rhineland and in southern Bavaria

Thunderstorms with heavy rain and gusty winds in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and in the Alps caused the fire brigades to work continuously. Streets were under water, basements were full, and there were also obstacles to rail traffic.

Severe storms swept across parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria on Thursday evening. In several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, the fire brigades were in constant use – for example because of fallen trees, flooded basements and streets. Due to the consequences of the storm, Deutsche Bahn experienced failures and route closures – for example between Gronau and Enschede and on an S-Bahn line to Düsseldorf Airport.

The center of the storm was the Lower Rhine. The cities of Mönchengladbach, Duisburg and Krefeld as well as the districts of Viersen and Rhein-Kreis-Neuss were particularly affected. According to their own statements, the fire brigade in Krefeld had to go out on dozens of missions. “Countless” cellars were flooded. Trees fell onto the streets and parked cars. Three overhead lines were therefore torn down by kinked branches or fallen trees. According to the information, no one was injured. The occupants of a car stuck in a flooded underpass could be freed unharmed by the fire brigade.

In Oberhausen, the fire department received more than 43 emergency calls. Three cars were damaged by fallen trees there, the fire department said. In Bottrop, too, the fire brigade was called to several operations because of fallen trees. In Mülheim an der Ruhr, according to the fire brigade, an approximately 20 meter high oak tree was probably split by a lightning strike. Half of a tree fell on a residential building and damaged the roof. A car was also buried by the tree. Nobody was injured. In Cologne, the fire brigade deployed a total of 32 operations because of the storm, as announced on Twitter in the evening.

45 missions in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

In the Bavarian Alps too, severe storms caused flooded cellars and roof windows smashed by hail. In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the fire brigade deployed around 45 times, as a spokesman for the Oberland integrated control center said.

In Kempten, a lightning strike shut down the railway signal box, and trains were temporarily stopped on the route to Kaufering. In Oberstdorf there were mudslides, several roads were blocked by debris and water, and the cellars and stables were full of water.

The German Weather Service had warned of thunderstorm fronts with heavy rain for both regions. The highest warning level applied in the Alpine region.