After the violent storms in western Germany, six houses collapsed in debt near Adenau in the Eifel (Ahrweiler district) on Thursday night. According to the police, a large number of houses are also in danger of collapsing. More than 30 people are currently missing. The situation in guilt is confusing, the spokesman said. Exactly how many people would be missing is still unclear. The disaster was declared.
The entire district of Ahrweiler was affected by the storm, said the spokesman. Several places were cut off from the outside world because of the flood. About 50 people are on the roofs of houses and need to be rescued. The police are now also talking of four dead in the Ahrweiler district. The exact circumstances are still unclear. The victims were found in several places.
The streets of Esch (Ahrweiler district) have turned into torrents.
(Photo: Thomas Frey / dpa)
According to a district spokesman, the situation in the Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm is extremely dangerous due to flooding. According to the district, two helpers from the technical relief organization were trapped in the floods in Messerich in the Eifel, and there is a risk to life, as the SWR reported. In the Sauerland, two firefighters had already died on Wednesday – they died during rescue work.
On Wednesday afternoon in Altena Märkischer Kreis) a 46-year-old firefighter died trying to save another man’s life: the firefighters managed to rescue him from the water, the police said. When he got back into the emergency vehicle, the firefighter fell into the water and was driven off. A short time later they could only rescue him dead. The accident happened around 5 p.m.
Just two hours later, a 52-year-old firefighter collapsed while working in the Werdohl-Elverlingsen power plant, also in the Sauerland. The police said he died despite resuscitation and relief measures.
Streams and rivers burst their banks
In North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, numerous streams and rivers have burst their banks, various districts have declared a disaster, in some places schools will be closed this Thursday. On many railway lines, operations were stopped on Wednesday evening. The railway advised all travelers to bypass North Rhine-Westphalia and postpone trips.
The Bevertalsperre overflowed in Hückeswagen in the Oberbergisches Kreis. The water is currently running uncontrolled over the edge of the dam, said a spokesman for the control center on Thursday morning. More than 1000 people had to leave their homes. The dam of the Steinbachtalsperre in Euskirchen also threatens to break. In the Bergisches Land, the authorities succeeded in preventing an uncontrolled overflow of the Wupper Dam. In the urban area of Radevormwald, however, residents along the Wupper were asked to leave the danger area.
The west of Germany in particular has been affected by heavy rains, floods and floods since Wednesday night. The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet (CDU), will visit Hagen on Thursday morning. The State Chancellery announced that he wanted to get an idea of the region that was particularly affected. In the city of the Ruhr area, masses of water flooded streets and cellars, and an old people’s home with 76 residents was evacuated. Hundreds of emergency calls were received by the fire department. In the evening, the city administration asked people who live near rivers: “If the house cannot be left, you should go to higher floors so that you can be rescued from there if necessary.”
The Kyll has burst its banks in Erdorf and has flooded parts of the village.
(Photo: Harald Tittel / dpa)
Weather service warns of further heavy rains
In North Rhine-Westphalia, more than 100 liters of rain per square meter had already fallen in some places in a short time on Wednesday night. Until Thursday morning, the German Weather Service warned of extreme storms with more heavy rain and thunderstorms, especially for the Eifel, the Rhineland, Bergisches Land, Sauerland and Ruhr area. Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) spoke on Wednesday of an “extremely difficult situation” whose further development could not be foreseen.
The Inde threatened to flood the historic city center of Kornelimünster in Aachen. Because of the flood, the electricity was switched off in the town center. The water levels also rose on the Lenne and Volme in the Sauerland. In the evening, the city of Düsseldorf asked the residents of a settlement in the Grafenberg district to leave their homes. The city said that around 350 buildings in the Ostparkiedlung were particularly affected by the rising floods of the northern Düssel. Here, too, the power should be switched off to be on the safe side.
Because they were flooded, various motorways were closed, for example in Düsseldorf the A 44 motorway in both directions or the A 1 between the Cologne-West intersection and Cologne-Bocklemünd. Because the sewers are very overcrowded, the residents of Erkrath near Düsseldorf were called on social media to “not produce any more sewage and if possible only use the toilet”.