Nature
Floods in Saxony-Anhalt: operational times extended
Volunteers and fire departments have built a large dam made of sandbags on the Helme in recent days. photo
© Heiko Rebsch/dpa
According to a spokeswoman, the situation in the flood area is stable. Nevertheless, more work must continue to be done to get the water masses under control.
Soldiers and civilian helpers are there to hold back masses of water Flood area in the Mansfeld-Südharz district continues to be in use.
Contrary to a decision on Sunday to only work in daylight, an underpass on Autobahn 71 near Autobahn 38 was protected with sandbags and so-called big bags yesterday even after darkness fell, said a spokeswoman for the Bundeswehr. The decision to extend the operating hours again was made by the district.
Lots of sandbags in use
The soldiers are currently working in shifts, said the Bundeswehr spokeswoman. There are enough sandbags filled. In total, the Bundeswehr installed 160,000 sandbags and 120 big bags in the flood area in Saxony-Anhalt from Friday to Tuesday morning, it said. Big bags are significantly larger sandbags with a capacity of one cubic meter.
According to the district, helpers and civilian volunteers coordinated by the district had previously installed more than a million sandbags. The aim is to use the bags to reinforce dikes so that they don’t break. According to the Bundeswehr spokeswoman, significant wetting is visible in some places.
The current situation
According to a spokeswoman for the district, the situation remains stable today. “The water levels are falling slightly, by around four to five centimeters,” she said in the morning. Two high-performance pumps that pump water from the meadows back into the helmets in a district of Sangerhausen could continue to operate despite the sub-zero temperatures.
After the Helme River overflowed its banks in southern Saxony-Anhalt shortly before the end of the year, the district declared a disaster and also asked the Bundeswehr for help. Around 200 temporary and professional soldiers began working on site on Friday. The Helme flows from Thuringia into the Kelbra dam, then continues through Mansfeld-Südharz and at Mönchpfiffel-Nikolausrieth then back into Thuringia.
Falling water levels in Lower Saxony
When the weather is dry and cold, the flood situation in Lower Saxony also eases. Water levels are falling at all gauges in the Aller, Leine and Oker catchment areas. The flood forecast center of the Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation announced this on Tuesday in Hildesheim.
However, the highest reporting level 3 still applies on the lower and middle reaches of the Aller and Leine. Here the situation with significantly increased water levels will last for a few more days.
In the catchment area of the Hunte and Hase rivers, the water levels in the lower reaches are still at a high level, it was said. They are expected to fall further in the next few days. The Hase is a tributary of the Ems, the Hunte is a tributary of the Weser. The water levels on the Weser are also falling at all levels. It can be assumed that they will fall below the reporting levels over the course of the week.
A ministry spokesman said the situation had eased, particularly in the southeast of the country. The number of emergency services has also been reduced here.