Weather service
Hundreds of operations due to constant rain in the west and southwest
Fire brigade forces clear a street in Söhnstetten in the Heidenheim district (Baden-Württemberg) after a hail storm. photo
© Jason Cheplyakov/dpa
Rain, rain and more rain – there are accidents on some roads and water levels are rising in some rivers and streams. In Saarbrücken, several buildings have to be evacuated, and the Interior Minister speaks of a very tense disaster control situation.
There has been continuous rain, especially in the west and Southwest Germany caused rising water levels in rivers and numerous fire brigade operations. Cellars on the French side of the border were also full and roads were closed. The German Weather Service has announced heavy, continuous rain until Saturday night, especially in the areas west of the Rhine. After that the rain should slowly subside.
Major damage situation in Saarbrücken
In view of the heavy rain, the city of Saarbrücken declared a major disaster in the afternoon. The city said there was flooding in some areas. Several buildings in the city would have to be evacuated. The affected people were asked to only take the essentials with them. Citizens should definitely avoid spending time outdoors and avoid flooded or endangered sections of traffic routes. Saar Interior Minister Reinhold Jost (SPD) described the disaster protection situation in Saarland as very tense.
“It just doesn’t stop raining,” said a spokesman for the state police headquarters in Saarbrücken. There were over 300 missions for the police and more than 500 missions for the fire department. This involves full basements, fallen trees and flooded roadways. However, no one was injured. Police advised that aquaplaning or flooding was to be expected on all roads. Due to the weather, numerous streets in Saarland were closed. There were also severe restrictions on train and bus traffic.
Persistent rain and rising water levels
In Rhineland-Palatinate, the flood forecast center reported sharply rising water levels on Friday, especially in the southern part of the country. At individual water levels, water levels are possible that statistically occur every 100 years, it said. Meanwhile, no reporting heights should be exceeded on the Rhine. The water levels are expected to fall again from Saturday afternoon, it was said.
In Baden-Württemberg there was also local persistent rain and sometimes strong thunderstorms. However, the feared weather chaos did not materialize on Friday night. A police spokesman said that there were slightly more traffic accidents. But no one was seriously injured or even died.
The Baden-Württemberg flood forecast center warned of significantly rising water levels in some Baden-Württemberg rivers, especially the Upper Rhine tributaries and waters in the Neckar catchment area. It was said that minor floods could develop. In individual cases, the sewerage system could also be overloaded. Streets, cellars, underpasses and underground car parks could be flooded.
Heavy rain in the French border region
In the French border region with Germany, small rivers burst their banks within a short time after heavy rain. Individual cars were carried away by the water. Some roads were closed, including the Autobahn 320 in the direction of Saarbrücken in one section. So far, people have not been harmed by the floods on Thursday evening and Friday in Lorraine and Alsace.
As the fire department in Metz announced on Friday, there were more than 300 operations in around 70 communities in the Moselle region. 270 firefighters responded with around 200 vehicles. The region around Saint-Avold and Sarreguemines, which borders Saarland, was particularly affected. France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called on residents to be extremely careful; the red warning level had been imposed for the region.
According to the DWD, Germany will face a mix of partly rainy and partly sunny weather on the Pentecost weekend. On Saturday it will remain very cloudy and rainy in a strip from the Eifel to Lausitz. Initially, thunderstorms can be expected, especially in the north and west, and also from the Alps in the late afternoon and evening.