Storm - Rain expected again: The situation in the flood areas remains threatening
No all-clear in the flood areas: The German Weather Service (DWD) has predicted heavy rainfall in some areas. In the congested areas of the Bergisches Land and Siegerland in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the Harz mountains, continuous rain is expected from Friday morning until Saturday night. Up to 40 liters per square meter could fall within 24 hours. The situation in Lower Saxony is tense. In eastern Germany, too, many fire departments are still in constant operation.
In Lower Saxony, areas along the rivers Aller, Leine and Weser in the southern and central part of the state are affected. The situation there worsened further on Thursday. The dykes were no longer able to withstand the masses of water everywhere. Thousands of aid workers were deployed across the country. Evacuations were prepared in some places. In the municipality of Langlingen in the district of Celle, around 120 people left their houses and apartments during the night as a precaution. This morning, the state government plans to give an update on the flood situation at a press conference.
Minister President Weil: "Experts have been warning for a long time"
Minister President Stephan Weil (SPD) said on Thursday that there had never been a flood of this magnitude before. "Experts have been warning for a long time that the increasingly frequent extreme weather events are linked to climate change," he said. According to the Ministry of the Interior, a so-called exceptional event was declared in six districts and the city of Oldenburg. This measure allows districts to access emergency services more easily, for example.
The all-clear has not yet been given around Bremen either. According to the authorities on Thursday evening, numerous houses along the Wümme in the Katrepel area are surrounded by water and without power. Most of the residents had left the area. In the district of Timmersloh, the water is standing on the dykes. Roads and fields were flooded. According to information from the interior authorities, measures have already had to be taken several times to secure the dykes.
No flood warning on the Elbe yet
Rising water levels are expected on the Elbe in Dresden. In the early hours of Thursday afternoon, 5.92 meters were measured. This was still just below the six-meter mark, above which the second-highest alert level 3 would apply. The state flood control center expected this limit to be exceeded in the morning - but only very slightly at a maximum of 6.01 meters. A water level of 2.00 meters is normal in the Elbe in the state capital.
Hydrologists expect the Elbe flood waters to recede from today onwards, according to a spokesman for the State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology. Only localized light rain is expected, in the Czech catchment area of the Elbe neither precipitation nor snowmelt is expected until today.
Downstream in Magdeburg and Schönebeck in Saxony-Anhalt, the State Office for Flood Protection and Water Management opened the Pretzien weir on Thursday. This means that around a third of the Elbe water will be diverted past the two towns through a bypass channel and across meadows and fields before flowing back into the Elbe.
In the north of Thuringia, the view is directed towards the Kelbra dam, from which water has been released. In the village of Mönchpfiffel-Nikolausrieth, around 30 houses were in danger of being flooded, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior on Thursday. Emergency services had set up 6000 sandbags on the riverbank to prevent this. According to the information, the water was about ten centimeters below the edge of the bank.
Read at stern+: No rain in Europe for months. Crops wither, rivers dry up, panic breaks out - this is the scenario of the thriller "42 degrees" by Wolf Harlander. We asked the author: What does his fiction have in common with reality?
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- Despite the predicted heavy rainfall by the DWD in some areas, including the Bergisches Land and Siegerland in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Harz mountains, the situation in the flood zones remains threatening.
- In the midst of these predicted rains, the situation in Lower Saxony remains tense, with areas along the rivers Aller, Leine, and Weser in the southern and central part of the state still being affected.
- Stephan Weil, the Minister President of Lower Saxony, acknowledged that there has never been a flood of this magnitude before, attributing it to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events linked to climate change.
- The flood situation worsened further in Lower Saxony on Thursday, with the dykes becoming unable to withstand the masses of water everywhere.
- In the district of Celle, around 120 people from the municipality of Langlingen left their houses and apartments during the night as a precaution due to the flood threat.
- The DWD also predicted heavy rainfall in the district of Celle, making the flood situation even more precarious.
- Meanwhile, in the district of Bremen, numerous houses along the Wümme in the Katrepel area are surrounded by water and without power.
- Despite this, no flood warning has been issued on the Elbe yet, although rising water levels are expected in Dresden.
- Hydrologists expect the Elbe flood waters to recede from today onwards, but light rain is still expected in the Czech catchment area of the Elbe.
- Downstream in Magdeburg and Schönebeck in Saxony-Anhalt, the State Office for Flood Protection and Water Management opened the Pretzien weir to divert a third of the Elbe water.
- In eastern Germany, including Hanover and Dresden, many emergency services are still in operation due to the bad weather and rainfall, further exacerbating the flood situation.
Source: www.stern.de
