Storm - Faeser travels to flood area - situation remains tense
The flood situation remains tense, especially in Lower Saxony. Even at the start of the new year, the weather is unlikely to provide any relief for the residents of the flooded areas for the time being. On Monday, the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach predicted more rain for the coming days.
According to data from the State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) on Monday, there is little change in the water levels in many places in Lower Saxony. The authority reported in the morning that a major flood warning was active for the Leine, the Aller and the Upper and Middle Weser, among others.
Faeser visits flood areas
One day after Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser also wants to get a picture of the flood situation in Lower Saxony on New Year's Day. In the afternoon (3 p.m.), the SPD politician wants to find out about the situation in Hatten-Sandkrug near Oldenburg and talk to the emergency services.
She will be accompanied by Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens(SPD), THW President Sabine Lackner and the President of the Federal Police, Dieter Romann.
Continuous rain threatens further flooding
On New Year's Eve, the DWD had warned of continuous rain in Lower Saxony over the next few days. The official storm warning issued on Sunday evening is valid from Tuesday at 00:00 until probably Thursday night and thus coincides with the already tense flood situation. There is great concern that the situation in the flood areas could worsen and that other parts of the country could have to contend with flooding.
Tense situation in the south of Saxony-Anhalt
The flood situation in Saxony-Anhalt remains stable, albeit at a high level in some areas. According to the State Office for Flood Protection (LHW), the flood peak on the Elbe continued to move towards Tangermünde on Monday, where the second of four alert levels was reached. At the Barby gauge and further upstream near Wittenberg, the water levels had already dropped again by the New Year.
However, the situation remains tense in the south of Saxony-Anhalt on the border with Thuringia on the Helme. Due to the flooding of the river, the railroad line between Sangerhausen in Saxony-Anhalt and Artern in Thuringia has been closed. The reason for the closure was the use of an excavator on the railroad embankment near Oberröblingen to secure the dyke there, the district of Mansfeld-Südharz announced on Monday.
Helpers have to deal with onlookers
The helpers in Saxony-Anhalt also have to deal with onlookers time and again. In Lostau (Jerichower Land), for example, several people were found in an unseaworthy children's inflatable boat in the Elbe flood area, as the police reported on Sunday. Police authorities in southern Saxony-Anhalt also warned people not to enter the dykes.
Read also:
- Floods: water levels remain critical in many places
- Snow chaos further restricts Bavaria
- Continuous operation in the flood areas
- Flood situation remains tense in many places
Source: www.stern.de
