Status: 10/22/2021 9:13 a.m.
The storm calmed down in large parts of the country during the night. Railway failures, accidents and damage decreased significantly. The wind moving towards Scandinavia can still be felt in the northeast.
The first autumn storm gradually ran out of air during the night. Nevertheless, the gusts of wind moving towards Scandinavia could still be felt in the coastal areas. For today, the German Weather Service (DWD) forecast gusts or gusts of wind again in the north and center of Germany, as well as individual thunderstorms during the day.
Significantly increased water levels were measured on the North Frisian coast. The highest values were achieved at the Eider Barrage and in Husum, according to a spokeswoman for the Federal Shipping and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). However, the storm surge mark of 1.5 meters above the mean flood was not exceeded.
Considerable damage from the first autumn storm over Germany
Svea Eckert, NDR, daily news 8:00 p.m., October 21, 2021
Further restrictions in rail traffic
According to Deutsche Bahn, there are still isolated delays and train cancellations on the rails. In local transport, connections in Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Saarland are particularly affected by restrictions. The rail traffic started well in the morning, said a spokesman.
Long-distance traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia was stopped yesterday due to the storm. Only after more than three hours did express trains start rolling again on the important routes from Hamburg or Berlin in the afternoon. Throughout Germany, branches or other objects on the tracks and in the overhead lines caused delays and impairments. In Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Deutsche Bahn temporarily completely stopped regional traffic.
Train driver killed by falling tree
The storm caused accidents and injuries in many places on Thursday. In Brandenburg a train driver was killedwho left his train to clear the tracks. He was so badly injured by a falling tree that he died on the way to the hospital.
In Hesse, a tree fell on a moving car on a country road, the 58-year-old driver was seriously injured. In Thuringia, a branch caught the car of a driver who then also had to go to the hospital. A cyclist in Saxony-Anhalt was injured by a falling tree. A 17-year-old motorcyclist was injured in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Several people were also trapped in their cars by fallen trees. A falling tree in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, barely missed a 20-year-old who was just getting out of the car. However, a branch hit her on the head and she was taken to a clinic. A 22-year-old said her car was hit by a gust of wind on the A31. The woman lost control and got off the lane, her car overturned – she was seriously injured in the hospital.
The first autumn storm raged in the Harz region in particular, the DWD said. Wind speeds of around 150 kilometers per hour were measured on the Brocken. A storm surge flooded the fish market in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district. A spokeswoman for the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) said the apex was reached early Thursday evening at 1.72 meters above the mean flood. Numerous onlookers wanted to see it.