Storm depth Zoltan has reached Germany. Train travelers in particular are feeling the effects. According to a statement from the company, rail traffic will be affected nationwide on December 22nd. There are delays and train cancellations in long-distance transport. The railway lines in northern Germany are particularly affected. The railway informs here about which routes are affected.
During the night, trains were available in Hamburg, Hanover, Frankfurt, Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, Berlin and Fulda in which stranded train passengers could spend the night. All travelers who arrive on December 21st and trip planned for December 22, 2023 due to the storm Zoltan According to the railway, you can use your ticket at a later date. The train connection has been lifted. The ticket is valid for the journey to the original destination, even with a changed route. Seat reservations can be canceled free of charge.
Deutsche Bahn recommends that travelers find out how busy long-distance trains are before starting their journey and, if possible, use less busy connections.
Air traffic was also affected by the storm. On Thursday evening, operations at Frankfurt Airport were affected. A spokesman reported delays on Thursday evening and several starts after 11 p.m. Exact figures are not yet available. There were no flight cancellations due to the storm, the spokesman said. According to him, normal operations were back on Friday morning: “All the traffic lights are green.”
Many missions and several injuries
Three people were injured in Schleswig-Holstein. A person crashed his car into a tree on the road in Fahrdorf and was seriously injured. In Salzwedel and Gommern (Jerichower Land district) in Saxony-Anhalt, two people were slightly injured, as the Stendal police announced on Friday morning. The fire brigade also went out on numerous missions in Berlin and Brandenburg.
Zoltan also causes cancellations and delays in rail traffic in Bavaria. Deutsche Bahn warns on Friday of all-day weather-related disruptions. Long-distance transport is particularly hard hit. There were also disruptions on the roads across Bavaria due to the strong gusts of wind and constant rain and numerous police and fire service operations. Above all, fallen trees and torn branches caused minor damage.
Warning of severe storm surges in Hamburg and on the North Sea coast
In Hamburg, the heavy storm surge pushed the water of the Elbe ashore during the night and completely flooded the Hamburg fish market and the surrounding streets. The water was sometimes waist high. Since not all the cars were driven away in time, they too were flooded. During the night, the fire brigade and police were out in the region to search for people in the vehicles that were still parked in the flood area.
There was already water at the Hamburg fish market early on Friday morning.
(Photo: Axel Heimken/AFP)
Due to the expected effects of the severe storm surge, the central disaster team of the Hamburg Interior Authority has been on duty since Friday morning. In the Elbe area of Hamburg, the police warned of a severe storm surge in the morning. The water levels will then according to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) rise to about 3 meters above mean high water. According to police, the affected area should be avoided. According to the information, the flood peak is expected at around 11 a.m. at the St. Pauli gauge with a height of up to 3.05 meters above the mean flood level.
The experts from the BSH also predicted severe storm surges on Friday for the East Frisian coast and the Weser area. Flood waters there are expected to be 2.5 meters to 3 meters above average in the morning and midday. On the North Frisian coast, water levels of 2 meters to 2.5 meters above mean high water are expected. A storm surge is considered severe if the water level is 2.5 meters above mean high water.
The storm surge is triggered by strong wind from a constant direction, which builds up the water on the North Sea coast. “When the tidal wave passes the North Sea islands, it runs up the rivers afterwards,” said Jennifer Brauch from the authority’s forecast services for the North and Baltic Seas.
Many ferries were canceled on Thursday, while others had a special timetable on Friday. Ferry traffic between Rostock and Gedser in Denmark was also suspended. In the evening, the more than 900 meter long Fehmarnsund Bridge between the mainland and the island of Fehmarn was completely closed, the police announced.
Ferries to and from Norderney have been canceled since Thursday afternoon.
(Photo: Volker Bartels/dpa)
“Zoltan” should get stronger again on Friday evening
The German Weather Service is expecting gusts of 90 to 110 kilometers per hour on the North and Baltic Sea coasts on Friday morning, and even stronger hurricane gusts are therefore possible. The rest of the country is also experiencing a storm Zoltan continue to create. Although the wind will initially weaken there on Friday, it will pick up again in the second half of the day.
For Bavaria, the meteorologists predicted a lot of snow for the higher altitudes of the Bavarian Forest. The DWD expects stormy gusts or squalls in the Bavarian plains until Saturday, particularly in the foothills of the Alps and generally in the mountains, severe squalls. At higher altitudes in the Alps and the Bavarian Forest there could also be hurricane-like gusts and, in some cases, hurricane-force gusts on the highest peaks. It is expected to rain a lot in the low mountain ranges and the Alps until the night of Christmas Eve. In the Allgäu, the DWD warns of severe, continuous rain.