The flooding continues to keep people in the affected regions on tenterhooks. In some cases the water levels are receding slightly – but the situation remains critical.
The situation in flood areas in Germany remains critical. Parts of Lower Saxony and the south of Saxony-Anhalt on the border with Thuringia are affected, among others. However, in Lower Saxony, the second largest federal state in terms of area, there were signs of a slight easing in some places.
The Celle district and the city of Meppen, for example, spoke of slightly falling water levels. However, the highest reporting level at the water gauges has still been exceeded, so that there is still a risk of major flooding, according to the Celle district.
A possible evacuation is being prepared in the city of Oldenburg. The city announced on Saturday that the dikes were still under high pressure. Water levels would only fall marginally at most. So far, however, the dikes are dry and stable. The federal police are supporting dike security there. On Friday, a Super Puma helicopter brought particularly large sandbags to dikes in Hatten to secure them, the federal police said on Saturday. The helicopter was also in use on Saturday.
In the Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, Lower Saxony, the critical flood situation has eased slightly. Pumps on the site managed to push large amounts of water behind the dike towards Meiße, said a spokeswoman for the amusement park north of Hanover. The water in the animal house for the antelopes and giraffes also sank noticeably and flowed out of the building again. According to the park, large parts of the area are still flooded and in some cases cannot be reached at all. Lions, rhinos, tigers and elephants, among others, live in the park.
People are trying to return to evacuated houses
In the municipality of Winsen/Aller, evacuated residents returned to their homes several times, the Celle district said. The fire brigade brought the people back. Evacuations are also continuing in the community of Lilienthal near Bremen. A community spokeswoman said around 500 people were reported in the affected areas. It is not yet clear when they will be able to return to their homes.
The flood brought new highs at several gauges. On the Weser, for example, the water level near Drakenburg on Saturday morning, at 835 centimeters, exceeded the previous high from 1981 by one centimeter, as the national flood service announced.
Many water levels are still above the highest reporting level, as stated in a management report from the State Office for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) on Saturday morning. The rain that fell in the Harz on Friday caused the water levels in the upper reaches of the Leine and Oker as well as their tributaries to rise again. However, several water levels had already reached their peak and would fall again.
According to NLWKN, the water levels in the middle and lower reaches of the Aller, Leine and Oker remain at the current level for the time being. The situation is also still very tense in other river areas such as the Hunte and Wümme. However, it can be assumed that the water levels there will fall slightly or remain at the same level.
Rising water levels in Saxony-Anhalt, declining in Saxony
The Mansfeld-Südharz district in Saxony-Anhalt declared a disaster. District Administrator André Schröder said the decision was based on the long duration of the defensive measures against the flood situation. The Kelbra dam on the state border with Thuringia has been being drained in a controlled manner for several days because it was in danger of overflowing. As a result, the water level in the helmets has risen sharply. On Thursday evening, the authorities opened a dike on the river so that the water can drain into open fields towards Thuringia. The mayor of the municipality of Südharz, Peter Kohl, described the situation as critical. According to the district, there are currently no plans for evacuations or requests from the Bundeswehr.
In other regions of Saxony-Anhalt, water levels in some rivers also rose again due to rainfall. The state office for flood protection (LHW) said the heavy rainfall was heavier than initially forecast. Because the soil is already saturated, this has led to rising water levels in some areas.
In a town in the Kyffhäuser district in Thuringia, helpers were horrified to discover on Saturday that unknown persons had stolen 40 meters of sandbags from the protective walls built along the helmets. According to the district office, the protective wall at Mönchpfiffel-Nikolausrieth was completely removed over 20 meters. Initially no information could be given about the perpetrators. The district office wants to file criminal charges.
During a relief operation in Dabrun (Wittenberg district), a boat with several people on board capsized. A grandfather fell into the seven-degree Elbe with two grandchildren aged nine and twelve and their mother, the water police said. The grandparents’ house was no longer accessible by car – so the family tried to use Grandpa’s boat to provide for the grandparents. A firefighter who happened to be nearby noticed the accident and quickly rushed to help with another boat. All four people were rescued and taken to hospital with severe hypothermia. The incident happened on Friday.
Meanwhile, the flooding of the Elbe in Saxony continues to recede. A water level of 5.30 meters was measured at the Dresden gauge on Saturday morning. A day earlier it was 5.92 meters. Normal is around 2 meters. In the state capital, as well as in Schöna on the Czech border and downstream in Riesa, alert level 2 was still in effect. The hydrologists expect water levels to continue to fall. There were no longer any flood warnings for the other river areas in Saxony.
Water levels falling in North Rhine-Westphalia
In the flood regions in North Rhine-Westphalia, people can breathe a little. “Overall, the trend in water levels is declining,” said a spokesman for the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of the Environment when asked by the German Press Agency.
The Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) prepared to operate in the flood areas until the first week of January. “It is very clear that this will last through the turn of the year,” THW President Sabine Lackner told the German Press Agency on Friday. “What concerns us greatly is the condition of the dikes.” They were massively softened. Around 1,000 emergency services are on the move in the affected areas every day.
Numerous districts again appealed not to enter dikes because they were weakened and could be damaged.