12/26/2023 6:01 pm (current 12/26/2023 6:01 pm)
Days of continuous rain posed challenges for residents and emergency services in many regions of Germany over Christmas.
In Rinteln, Lower Saxony, residents were rescued from floodwaters on Tuesday morning. In Windehausen, Thuringia, people had to leave their homes and apartments on Christmas Day. The site was evacuated on Monday due to the critical flooding situation. Of the almost 500 residents, it is estimated that 100 are still in the city, according to Matthias Marquardt, mayor of the city of Heringen, to which Windehausen belongs.
The entry ban to Windehausen was imposed on Tuesday afternoon. The goal was to prevent limited access for disaster rescuers and tourists, Marquardt said. “The situation is still critical but stable.”
The entry ban to Windehausen was imposed on Tuesday afternoon. The goal was to prevent limited access for disaster rescuers and tourists, Marquardt said. “The situation is still critical but stable.”
Flood waves and evacuations in Lower Saxony
The situation in the district of Goslar in Lower Saxony is less stable. There, the Oker Dam in the Harz Mountains reached its maximum capacity. The Braunschweig city administration announced at noon that more water would be released into the Oker through the overflow of the dam. Instead of 16 cubic meters per second, 30 cubic meters per second now flows into the river. The wave is expected to reach the city late at night. Due to the threat of flooding from the Oker, the city of Braunschweig closed several streets near the river.
In the town of Rinteln, in the district of Schaumburg, residents of a street close to the city wall were evacuated in the morning, as announced by the municipal administration. According to the NDR, 108 residents were evacuated. The basements of the buildings on the affected street were full. The fire department is on site with pumps and sandbags stacked.
Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) got an idea of the flood situation in the country on Tuesday. During a visit to Northeim, where a dam failed, he thanked tens of thousands of helpers for their efforts during the Christmas holidays.
The Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) expects a tense flood situation to continue in the coming days. “In fact, the situation across Lower Saxony is very tense,” said NLWKN director Anne Rickmeyer. Rickmeyer emphasized that water levels are expected to rise in many parts of the country in the coming days. “We have flood situations in large rivers, but of course we also have many small streams that are overflowing throughout the country.”
The flood situation in North Rhine-Westphalia also remains tense. “We mainly have increasing or constant flood levels,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment in Düsseldorf. This leads to pressure on the dikes.
Decreased water levels in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse
With a few exceptions, water levels in the rivers and streams of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland are falling – and are likely to continue doing so in the coming days. “The trend is downward,” said a spokesman for the flood reporting service in Mainz. There may be a rise again in the new year. “But that’s still a thing of the future,” he said. The German Weather Service also did not expect heavy rainfall in the coming days. According to the flood forecasting center, the highest levels on the Upper Rhine had already been reached on Tuesday; in the Middle Rhine, the highest levels were expected during Tuesday, after which the water is expected to recede here too.
The flood situation is also likely to improve in Bavaria and Hesse. According to forecasts, the state-relevant maximum levels have largely been reached or have already passed, the Hessian State Office for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG) announced on Tuesday. The peak is only expected on the Main, but by current calculations this will only happen in the level 1 reporting area.
Severe weather alerts suspended
After all: after days of continuous rain, the DWD has suspended all severe weather warnings that were temporarily in effect in several federal states. The DWD announced at noon in Offenbach that the rain had eased or lost intensity. “Heavy rain is not expected until further notice.”