Situation worsens: people rescued from flooded homes
Published: Saturday, Jun 1st 2024, 20:30
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In the flooded areas of southern Germany, the authorities are extending their evacuation calls in view of rising river levels. In the Bavarian district of Augsburg, people were urged to leave their homes on Saturday evening. The situation will worsen in the northern part of the district in the evening, said a spokeswoman for the Augsburg district office. The German Weather Service (DWD) also maintained the highest storm warning level in several districts of Bavaria in the evening. There were no reports of major damage to property. The emergency services have been working continuously for hours.
In some areas of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in particular, rivers flooded streets, cellars and meadows. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser assured the regions of further support. "Due to the heavy continuous rain and the threat of flooding, the THW is prepared to deploy additional forces nationwide," said the SPD politician, referring to the emergency services of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW). "We will continue to support the affected federal states with all available resources." More than 500 THW personnel were deployed. The fire departments are likely to have hundreds more.
The situation around Augsburg was particularly tense. Residents in the village of Diedorf had to leave their homes after two dams burst, according to the responsible district. Due to the high water masses, an evacuation is being prepared in the Diedorf district of Anhausen, the Augsburg district office announced. "It is no longer sufficient to go to higher floors." Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder and Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (both CSU) visited the site to get an idea of the situation.
Söder: "Things are just getting started now."
During his visit, Söder spoke of an "extreme burden" for the people and warned: "This is not over yet. It's only just getting started." The main focus of the storm is currently in Swabia, which is why resources - such as sandbags - are also being gathered there.
Even though there was no widespread flooding by the evening, the situation was already threatening in some areas. In Babenhausen, south of Ulm, emergency services used boats to rescue people from their homes. The cell phone network also failed in some areas. Anyone who needed help and was unable to make an emergency call should hang a white sheet or cloth out of the window or - if possible - make themselves noticed at the window to draw attention to their plight, the district office instructed.
In Fischach in the district of Augsburg, helpers used a helicopter to get people out of their homes. The residents would not have been able to leave the town in any other way, said a spokeswoman for the district administration. There are fears of a flood of the century in some places. This is a calculated figure and refers to a flood that is statistically reached or exceeded once every 100 years.
Bundeswehr soldiers were also deployed in Bavaria. "The Bundeswehr is supporting the two districts of Günzburg and Aichach-Friedberg after both districts submitted an official request," a Bundeswehr spokeswoman from the Bavarian State Command told the radio station Antenne Bayern on Saturday. In Memmingen, around 100 prisoners in a prison were brought to safety due to flooding.
130 liters within 24 hours
In some places, heavy rain has been falling since Friday. According to meteorologists, for example, 135 liters per square meter have fallen within 24 hours in Sigmarszell-Zeisertsweiler in Bavaria since 8:00 a.m. on Friday. In Kisslegg in Baden-Württemberg it was 130 liters. In several cities in the two federal states, rainfall amounts of more than 100 liters per square meter within 24 hours had accumulated by early Saturday morning. Climate change is making extreme weather events more likely.
Severe weather warnings were issued for parts of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria on Saturday evening. There were warnings of heavy rain in a strip from Bavaria to Thuringia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. On Sunday night, the DWD expected further showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain, mainly from Thuringia to northern Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The rainfall was not expected to subside until the second half of the night and move towards France. Already in the afternoon, there was heavy rainfall in Greiz, Thuringia, with flooded cellars and streets.
Flooding in Baden-Württemberg
Land under water also in parts of Baden-Württemberg. Areas in Upper Swabia were affected. Rivers burst their banks. However, the two cities of Ulm and Neu-Ulm were no longer expecting extreme flooding on Saturday. In Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, a central sandbag storage facility was commissioned, according to the fire department.
Baden-Württemberg's Environment Minister Thekla Walker (Greens) said in an initial assessment: "As initial experiences on the ground show, it has paid off that the state government has mobilized and permanently secured a lot of money for dams, rainwater retention basins and municipal heavy rain concepts in recent years."
Appeal to the public to exercise caution
Authorities in several regions of Germany called on the population to exercise caution in view of the weather. The Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology appealed to people to take care of their own safety in the event of high water and flooding. This means: stay away from watercourses, do not walk or drive into cellars, underground garages and underpasses during heavy rainfall and do not cross flooded areas on foot or by vehicle.
In Germany, the weather affected rail travelers. According to Deutsche Bahn, there were disruptions and train cancellations in southern Germany. Two ICE routes in particular were affected, according to a Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman. No trains ran between Munich, Bregenz and Zurich throughout Saturday due to the flooding. The route between Ulm and Augsburg was also affected. On the roads, the rain caused several accidents, some of which resulted in injuries.
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