After the storms in the Hof region, many Upper Franconians have to restore their wet and dirty cellars on Wednesday. The fire brigades were busy pumping out until early in the morning, and streets were also flooded. The district of Hof had issued the disaster alarm on Tuesday evening. According to the German Weather Service, up to 80 liters fell from the sky there within twelve hours, and there were also thunderstorms. Initially, however, nothing was known of the injured.
The fire brigade and police moved out to over 200 missions in the entire district, according to a message from the district office. Naila, Selbitz, Köditz, Feilitzsch and Trogen were particularly affected. More than 50 fire brigades with almost 1000 people as well as 140 members of the Technical Relief Organization (THW) were in constant use to pump water from cellars and to procure sandbags. It was also announced that the primary school in Selbitz will be closed on Wednesday. The Wichtelland daycare center in Köditz will also remain closed, but the school will be open as things stand.
In the region, even the emergency number 112 could not be reached immediately due to the large number of callers in individual cases, as the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) announced. The rescue service supply is guaranteed at all times. However, the fire brigade’s operations had to be prioritized, there were waiting times. Between around 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. alone, there were around 500 weather-related alarms.
As a police spokesman announced early Wednesday morning, there were road closures in the entire district due to flooding and a traffic accident with two slightly injured people. Accordingly, a car slipped on a wet road against a guardrail. In addition, there were full cellars, fallen trees and occasional power outages.