It is not yet possible to estimate how extensive the damage caused by the floods in the southwest is. Cleaning up has begun in many places. While the water levels on the Saar are falling, they are rising massively on the Rhine.
The situation has continued to ease in the flood areas in southwest Germany. “There are no longer any critical situations in Saarland,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior there. The current weather situation is not problematic at the moment and clean-up work is now underway. “We clean up and pump out.”
The spokesman said it is not yet possible to predict how extensive the damage will be. Enormous amounts of rain caused flooding, landslides and full streets and basements in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate on Friday and Saturday night.
Authorities continued to warn people in flood areas to be careful. The city of Saarbrücken announced on its website that citizens should “be careful and not take any unnecessary risks” and follow the official warnings. She also warned “urgently” not to enter the forests – there is a risk of landslides or falling trees.
In Zell an der Mosel, large parts of the old town are under water. The situation there is now easing.
More than 100 liters of rain within 24 hours
The situation also eased in neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate. “In the last 48 hours we have experienced a large, widespread flood,” said Prime Minister Malu Dreyer, who visited the Trier-Saarburg district. “We can only assess the extent of damage to buildings and traffic infrastructure once the acute operations have ended.”
Despite the enormous amounts of water – the weather service recorded more than 100 liters of rain per square meter in less than 24 hours in some places – the storm apparently had a mild outcome in terms of possible injuries or deaths. In Saarbrücken, a person had an accident during a rescue operation and had to be resuscitated. Otherwise, there are no reports of significant injuries from the two affected federal states.
From 3.92 meters to 6.20 meters in one day
While the water levels in Saarland and on the Moselle in the Trier area are falling, they are rising significantly further downstream. This is noticeable, for example, on the Rhine in Cologne.
The water level there was still 3.92 meters at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning. 24 hours later it had already risen to over 6.20 meters. Several paths on the bank were flooded. The Rhine is expected to reach its highest level on Monday morning.
In Cologne, the water level of the Rhine is rising massively. Areas on the bank – like this playground in the Rodenkirchen district – are already under water.
DWD: “It will be interesting on Tuesday”
Many residents are certainly looking at the weather forecasts for the coming week with trepidation: “It will be interesting on Tuesday,” said meteorologist Markus Böse from the German Weather Service (DWD). Then heavy rains developed again, “which from today’s perspective will mainly affect the southwest of the country.”
It is still unclear exactly where the focus of the rain will be and how large the amounts of rain will be. However, most of the rain comes from the sky within six to twelve hours, said Böse. If the Saarland and the Palatinate are again the focus of rainfall, rising water levels and possibly floods and floods must be expected there again.