The weather situation in Germany is improving, but there is still a risk of flooding in many places. The full dams in the middle of the country continue to be a cause for concern. Interior Minister Faeser thanked the flood helpers.
After days of rain and associated flooding in many regions of Germany, the situation in some affected parts of the country is slowly beginning to ease. The German Weather Service (DWD) lifted severe weather warnings for several federal states.
The weather forecast offers some hope: According to the DWD forecast, there will be some rain in the northwest today, otherwise it will remain dry with some major loosening.
A police spokesman said early on Wednesday morning that the situation in Windehausen, Thuringia, had eased significantly. The water levels in Thuringia have largely decreased.
Nevertheless, the all-clear is not given everywhere: the situation remains tense, especially in some regions in the middle of Germany. Some dams there no longer have the capacity to absorb the water masses. According to the Harz waterworks, the Oker dam and the Innerste dam in the Harz are more than 100 percent full. The amount of water in the other dams is also approaching 100 percent.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the approximately 180 residents of the village of Thürungen were asked to seek safety due to the threat of flooding at the full Kelbra and Helme reservoirs.
Braunschweig expects a lot of water
Instead of 16 cubic meters per second, 30 cubic meters per second flow out of the Oker dam. This could cause problems downstream – for example in the Goslar district in Lower Saxony.
Because of the impending Oker flood, the city of Braunschweig has closed several streets near the river and built a 600 meter long mobile dike. However, it is still assumed that the floods caused by the Oker and its tributaries are limited to the designated flood areas.
The situation in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia remains tense
In the town of Rinteln in the Schaumburg district, residents of a street directly next to the city wall were evacuated on Tuesday morning, as the city administration announced. Loud NDR 108 residents were evacuated. The basements of the buildings on the affected street were full. The fire department is on site with pumps and stacking sandbags.
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) personally took a look at the flood situation in the country. During a visit to Northeim, where a dam had burst, he thanked the tens of thousands of helpers for their efforts over the Christmas holidays.
The Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) expects the flood situation to remain tense in the coming days. “In fact, the situation throughout Lower Saxony is very tense,” said NLWKN director Anne Rickmeyer. Rickmeyer emphasized that water levels are expected to rise in many parts of the country in the coming days. “We have flood situations in the large rivers, but of course we also have many small streams that are swelling all over the country.”
The flood situation in North Rhine-Westphalia also remains tense. “We mostly have rising or constant flood levels,” said a spokesman for the Environment Ministry in Düsseldorf. This leads to pressure on the dikes.
Declining water levels in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse
With a few exceptions, the water levels on rivers and streams in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland are declining – and it is likely to stay that way in the coming days. “The trend is falling,” said a spokesman for the flood reporting service in Mainz. There could possibly be an increase again in the new year. “But that’s still a thing of the future,” he said. The German Weather Service did not expect any further large amounts of rain in the next few days.
According to the flood forecast center, the highest levels on the Upper Rhine had already been reached on Tuesday; on the Middle Rhine, the highest levels were expected during Tuesday, after which the water should also recede here.
The flood situation is also easing in Bavaria and Hesse. According to forecasts, the maximum levels at the levels relevant for the state have largely been reached or have already passed, said the Hessian State Office for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG). The peak is only expected on the Main, but according to current calculations this will only happen in the area of reporting level 1.
Faeser thanks emergency services
In view of the current flood situation, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) praised the efforts of the many helpers on site. “I would like to thank the emergency services who were on flood duty throughout Christmas and are continuing to protect people from the floodwaters,” said Faeser to the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”.
“Thousands of volunteers, together with the full-time emergency services, are working tirelessly and cannot spend the Christmas hours with their families,” continued Faeser. “What they do for all of us deserves the greatest appreciation and respect.”
The federal government will continue to support the states, especially through strong forces from the Technical Relief Agency (THW). More than 2,000 emergency services from the THW alone are deployed to pump out water, install sandbags, secure the power supply and repair storm damage.