Land below in the southwest
Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate are fighting against floods
The flood situation in Blieskastel is still tense. photo
© Andreas Arnold/dpa
Continuous rain and floods have hit the southwest hard. Despite the masses of water, there were hardly any injuries. Chancellor Scholz and Interior Minister Faeser promised support.
“It is simply too early for both clean-up work and assessments of the damage,” said a spokeswoman for the Trier-Saarburg district of the German Press Agency. Drones have now been requested to get an overview of the extent of the damage from above.
The Saarland state capital Saarbrücken, as the lower disaster control authority, has lifted the major damage situation after the severe floods. The acute rescue and safety measures have been completed and the water levels continue to decline, the city’s press office announced on Saturday evening.
Enormous amounts of rain in Saarland on Friday and Saturday night caused flooding, landslides and likely high levels of damage. In the state capital Saarbrücken, the city highway was under water and had to be closed. A coal-fired power plant in Saarland was also flooded, as several media reported. The authorities also feared that the historic old town of Blieskastel would be flooded. Several emergency services tried to prevent this. Several people had to be evacuated across the country. In Rußhütte, a district of Saarbrücken, they were brought to safety with amphibious vehicles and boats. The authorities also feared that the historic old town of Blieskastel would be flooded. Several emergency services tried to prevent this.
There was also flooding in neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate – cellars and streets were full in both countries. Many smaller streams and rivers overflowed their banks. The good news: So far there have been hardly any injuries or even deaths.
Rail traffic also came to a temporary standstill. However, this was able to start rolling again over the course of Saturday. Most of the closed roads were passable again. “I would especially like to thank the employees of Deutsche Bahn and Autobahn GmbH for their commitment,” said Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) on Saturday.
Despite the enormous volumes of water – the weather service measured more than 100 liters of rain per square meter in less than 24 hours in some places – the outcome was mild in terms of possible injuries or deaths. “There are currently reports of an injured person,” said the spokesman. She had had an accident during a rescue operation and had to be resuscitated. “The person is being treated as an inpatient and there are currently no reports on his or her health.”
On Saturday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Saarland Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger also took a look at the situation on site. Wearing rubber boots, the two SPD politicians spoke to those affected, including in Kleinblittersdorf.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) meanwhile promised help: “The federal government is supporting Saarland in particular with strong forces to protect human lives after the severe floods and to limit the destruction caused by the masses of water as much as possible,” she said.