Germany: Severe storms, rainfall wreak havoc

Heavy rainfall fell across parts of Germany continued into Wednesday, causing flooding and damage to buildings and other property.

The states of Saxony, Thuringia, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the southern state of Bavaria were hardest hit by the extreme weather.

Extreme weather causes widespread disruption

In the town of Jöhstadt, in Saxony, emergency services were searching for a man who was swept away in a flash flood.

In the Bavarian city of Hof, around 1,000 firefighters and 140 rescue workers were deployed to incidents caused by flooding.

Fire crews assisted rescue teams searching for a man who was swept away in a flash flood in Jöhstadt

Regional authorities declared a disaster situation to better coordinate the relief operations. The measure was lifted again on Wednesday morning.

While the extreme weather has eased off, some schools and day care centers remained closed in the area.

In Düsseldorf, the capital of Germany’s most populous state of NRW, firefighters were called out around 330 times by Wednesday morning to attend to flooding incidents, including in basements and underground garages.

In Hagen, in western Germany, over 100 liters of rain per square meter fell overnight

In the city of Hagen, also in NRW, over 100 liters of rain per square meter fell in the past 12 hours, according to the German Meteorological Service (DWD) in a tweet.

A retirement home was evacuated due to inflowing water. One person who was buried was injured and several drivers were rescued from their cars.

The rainfall has swelled the river Rhine, which flows through NRW, triggering restrictions to shipping in some areas.

Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia, including here Erkrath, experienced severe flooding

In the southern state of Baden-Württemberg, an 81-year-old man is reported to have fallen into the flooded Jagst River, which is in flood after heavy rainfall, on Monday night.

“We do not expect that the person can still be rescued alive,” authorities said in a statement.

Storms hit Switzerland

Heavy summer storms also caused widespread damage in neighboring Switzerland.

In the southern town of Magadino, an airport hangar partially collapsed amid heavy rain and strong winds overnight.

A store house was destroyed in Ruemlang, Switzerland after heavy rain and storms swept through the region

Trees were blown onto roads and rail tracks in Zurich, causing travel chaos for commuters, while authorities warned that several rivers in Switzerland could burst their banks. Some Alpine passes were temporarily closed due to heavy snowfall.

How long will the bad weather last?

The German Meteorological Service (DWD) reported that rain and storms are set to continue.

North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland can expect some of the worst weather. Up to 200 liters of rain per square meter could fall until Thursday in some places, the DWD said.

The DWD also issued severe weather warnings for regions in the center, south and east of the country, including for large parts of Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Berlin.

kmm/sms (dpa, AFP, AP)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-severe-storms-rainfall-wreak-havoc/a-58263050?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf