storm
Flooding in the south – streets and cellars flooded
The Danube has overflowed its banks in Lauingen, Bavaria. Photo
© Stefan Puchner/dpa
Rain without end in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Some rivers have already overflowed their banks. The worst could still be yet to come.
The situation on some rivers in southern Germany is becoming more critical due to heavy rainfall. In Bavaria, the districts of Augsburg, Aichach-Friedberg and Günzburg declared a state of emergency.
The district office in Augsburg said that the water levels are expected to continue to rise sharply in the coming hours. In addition to Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg is also badly affected. People have already been brought to safety – some by boat. The German Weather Service (DWD) has issued the highest severe weather warning level for several districts.
For hours, heavy rain has been falling, particularly in southern Germany. According to the DWD, the highest warning level 4 applies to western Swabia, Upper Allgäu and Upper Bavaria. In some areas, rainfall amounts of up to 120 litres per square metre are possible. Warning level 3 applies to Middle and Upper Franconia, with rainfall amounts of 40 to 70 litres. From the afternoon onwards, there could be strong thunderstorms in some areas of northern Bavaria.
In some places, there are fears of a once-in-a-century flood. This is a calculated value and refers to a flood that is reached or exceeded on average once every 100 years. Many severe weather warnings are initially valid until Sunday, some into Monday.
According to meteorologists, 135 litres per square metre have fallen within 24 hours since 8 a.m. on Friday in Sigmarszell-Zeisertsweiler in Bavaria. In Kißlegg in Baden-Württemberg, the figure was 130 litres. In several towns in both federal states, rainfall amounts of more than 100 litres per square metre had been recorded within 24 hours by early Saturday morning.
There were no large-scale floods. However, rivers and streams overflowed their banks in many places. In the Swabian district of Unterallgäu, around 150 people have been called upon to voluntarily leave their homes. In the town of Babenhausen alone, around 100 people are affected, said a spokeswoman for the district administration. Some of the people were to be picked up by boat. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder and Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (both CSU) wanted to travel to the Swabian flood area on Saturday.
Flooded streets and basements
There have already been numerous police operations in Bavaria. According to spokespersons from the relevant police headquarters, the operations were concentrated mainly on Swabia and northern Upper Bavaria. According to police, several people were injured in car accidents caused by the rain on the A9 motorway on Friday. Cellars and streets were repeatedly flooded. Emergency services and residents of rivers with rising water levels armed themselves with sandbags.
According to the fire department, a central sandbag storage facility was commissioned at the trade fair in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg. Around 10,000 sandbags are to be brought there from a neighboring district. Hundreds of emergency personnel from the fire department, the Technical Relief Agency and the German Red Cross helped.
The Lake Constance region is particularly in focus: Due to the acute risk of flooding, around 1,300 people in Meckenbeuren were advised to leave their homes. The situation has since eased somewhat, said the fire department spokesman. In general, it is assumed that the water levels could drop again somewhat, as a lot of water has already flowed away, for example into Lake Constance. A school has been secured with sandbags because it is not yet clear whether the Schussen will overflow at that point.
Avoid basements
Not far away in Weingarten near Ravensburg, the city also reported that the situation was more relaxed this morning. However, the all-clear could not yet be given, said a spokeswoman. Residents were advised on Friday evening to stay overnight with relatives and friends outside of the areas at risk from rising water levels and to avoid cellars and basements.
A flood alarm was triggered in Wangen im Allgäu on Friday evening. The state garden show will remain closed on Saturday for safety reasons, a spokeswoman for the city said. “There is a lot of water in the river and it is not yet clear how the situation will develop.”