Weather
Danger of flooding in parts of Germany
An ambulance drives along a flood-flooded road to Windehausen in Thuringia. photo
© Stefan Rampfel/dpa
Continuous rain has filled the rivers and streams heavily. In Thuringia, an entire town has to be evacuated. And storm surges are expected in the north.
In view of persistent rainfall and saturated soils, the Danger of flooding high in parts of Germany. Storm surges were expected in the north. The German Weather Service (DWD) continues to warn of continuous rain in several regions.
The Thuringian town of Windehausen (Nordhausen district) is surrounded by water and should be completely evacuated, as Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) wrote on the Internet platform X (formerly Twitter). “I hope that everyone affected by the flood will be able to return home soon,” wrote Ramelow.
According to the mayor’s assessment, the critical situation will last for several more days. “The situation is very threatening, I have never seen a picture like this in the Goldene Aue,” said the mayor of the city of Heringen, Matthias Marquardt (left), to the German Press Agency. The water is now up to one meter high in Windehausen. The district of Heringen is currently being evacuated.
“Like a bathtub that’s overflowing”
The problem is the increased groundwater that is in the cellars and cannot drain away so quickly. “It’s like a bathtub that’s overflowing,” said Marquardt. The almost 500 residents are urgently advised to leave their homes. However, the mayor emphasized that people would not be taken out of their homes with police force.
Since Monday afternoon, residents have been evacuated with wheel loaders and civil protection vehicles. They will be taken to collection points and from there by bus to a gym in Heringen. Many residents are staying with family members. Marquardt said that in Windehausen there was no electricity, no landline telephone and the toilets no longer worked because of the lack of drainage. According to the mayor, it rained again in the area on Monday.
Storm surges expected
According to the forecast, the Elbe in Hamburg was expected to reach the storm surge threshold of 1.5 meters above mean high water (MHW) in the afternoon, as the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) announced. The Federal Office also warned of storm surges in the Weser area and on the North Sea coast of Lower Saxony.
The water is also still high on many other rivers and streams in Lower Saxony. In Celle, a retirement and nursing home had to be evacuated as a precaution. Because of the flood situation, the city of Oldenburg has issued a ban on access to dike areas and paths there.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the Weser tributaries remain severely affected, according to data from the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (Lanuv). The highest warning threshold was exceeded at several measuring stations. The Environment Ministry said the flooding put a lot of strain on the dikes in North Rhine-Westphalia. Emergency services would have to carry out stabilization measures at some protection facilities in the country.
The flood situation continued to be tense in Saxony-Anhalt. On the other hand, according to the flood control center, the situation on the rivers and streams in Rhineland-Palatinate is visibly easing. According to the flood forecast center, water levels on the Upper Rhine up to and including Worms are already falling again. According to information, the water level on the Moselle in Trier reached its highest level at night at 6.14 meters. Since then, falling values have been measured there.
The flood situation in Bavaria has also calmed down somewhat. “We will continue to monitor this, but since there is no significant rainfall input, it is relatively predictable how the flood waves will unfold,” said a spokesman for the Flood Intelligence Service (HND). Franconia and Eastern Bavaria were particularly affected by the floods. There were isolated missions on Christmas Eve and the night of Christmas Day. In Nabburg (Schwandorf district) a canoeist capsized on the Naab. He was able to save himself from the river.
Warning of continuous rain
The German Weather Service continues to warn of continuous rain in several regions. High quantities are still expected, particularly in the western low mountain ranges – from the Bergisches Land to the Weserbergland – and in the Upper Harz, according to a DWD severe weather warning. A strong thaw is also continuing in the Erzgebirge. The severe weather warning applied to parts of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Saxony. Flooding is expected along streams and rivers. In addition to floods, landslides could also occur. The majority of the country remains under the influence of mild and very humid air masses. The continuous rain will continue in some cases until Tuesday.