Thunderstorm over Germany - Blitz hits Delmenhorst park - eight family members injured
In some parts of Germany, a stormy and particularly rainy night came to an end. Violent thunderstorms with heavy rain caused not only flooded basements but also severe injuries. Fire department and police were called out hundreds of times.
Lightning strikes family
At a park in Delmenhorst, Lower Saxony, eight members of a family were injured when a tree was struck by lightning. A five-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl were reportedly revived and taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The 38-year-old mother, her 40-year-old husband, a two-year-old girl, a nine-year-old girl, a twelve-year-old son, and a 31-year-old relative were also taken to hospitals. The parents had sought shelter with their five children and another relative under a tree to protect them from the approaching storm. A lightning strike occurred nearby. Two rescue helicopters, six ambulance teams, and five ambulances treated the injured at the scene.
In Southwestern Niedersachsen, there were heavy thunderstorms with heavy rain. A meteorologist from the German Weather Service (DWD) stated that around 29 liters per square meter per hour of rain had fallen in some areas. The DWD reports that it will be cooler and unstable in the region.
Storm over Quickborn
A city in Schleswig-Holstein was particularly affected: In Quickborn, in the Kreis Pinneberg, there were over 200 fire department interventions. The storm in the early evening brought heavy rain and strong winds, according to the Kreisfeuerwehrverband. At some incident sites, people were temporarily trapped by the water. Some storm-affected individuals took shelter in the main fire station in Quickborn. There was a large-scale power outage at one point.
North Germany affected by storms on Sunday
In parts of Hesse, police and fire department were called out multiple times. In the Kreis Kassel, according to police reports, there were flooded underpasses, uprooted trees, and scattered objects. A tree fell on a house in Soehrewald, making it uninhabitable, but there were no injuries. The A4 was closed near Gerstungen, Thuringia, for approximately two hours due to extreme flooding. As a result, a four-kilometer traffic jam formed.
Over 60 interventions in Bremen
The Fire Department Bremen reported over 60 interventions on Sunday evening due to the heavy rain. In most cases, the emergency services had to pump out flooded basements.
Accidents on wet road
In North Rhine-Westphalia, there were two accidents on the rain-soaked A2. In both cases, aquaplaning occurred, as the police reported, because the drivers were driving too fast. One man was seriously injured, and another man was lightly injured.
The bad weather conditions, including heavy thunderstorms and heavy rain, also led to numerous traffic accidents in North Rhine-Westphalia. The fire department in Germany was busy dealing with more than 60 emergency calls in Bremen due to flooded basements. Despite seeking shelter under a tree during the storm, a family in Delmenhorst, Lower Saxony, was unfortunately injured by a nearby lightning strike, resulting in several individuals requiring hospitalization with life-threatening injuries.
