Weather - Christmas with floods: situation expected to ease
Basements full of water, flooded streets, muddy paths: especially in the north of Thuringia, people were hit by sometimes severe flooding at Christmas. Fire departments and technical relief organizations are still in action, said the district fire director for Nordhausen, Daniel Kunze, on Sunday. At times, around 280 people were deployed, hauling sandbags, closing off roads and responding to emergency calls. Since Thursday, more than 280 operations have been registered for the district of Nordhausen, which has a population of around 80,000. However, there have been no known injuries in his area of responsibility so far, said Kunze.
"Unfortunately, it was not a peaceful Christmas for the firefighters who were deployed to avert danger in the areas at risk from flooding in the districts of Nordhausen and Eichsfeld," wrote Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) on the Internet platform X (formerly Twitter) late on Saturday evening. He thanked the helpers for their efforts.
But in other parts of Thuringia, too, emergency services had filled and stacked sandbags, pumped out cellars and cordoned off danger zones and also tackled other areas: Due to a washed-out level crossing in the Sonneberg district of Hüttengrund, train services between Sonneberg and Blechhammer were interrupted on Saturday until further notice, as the Süd-Thüringen-Bahn informed on its website.
In Eisenach, flooded streets were closed and an underpass was also under water. Roads were also flooded and closed in Windischleuba in the Altenburger Land region.
An accident had already occurred on Friday night, probably in connection with the flooding: In Hildburghausen, a 63-year-old man, who was supposed to have been regulating the water at a mill weir, fell into the water. A high water level and current pressure made it difficult to recover the deceased.
The State Office for the Environment, Mining and Nature Conservation (TLUBN) expects the situation to ease slightly at some measuring points on Sunday. However, there were also signs of a significant rise in water levels at some gauging stations.
Even if the situation calms down completely: It may still take some time until the water has drained away in the heavily affected areas, such as in northern Thuringia. Some residents will have to be prepared to spend the holidays with water in their cellars, Kunze confirmed. As long as the water is still standing over a large area in the villages, no pumping out will help.
The German Weather Service (DWD) expects further rainfall for the areas in northern and southern Thuringia, some of which have already been severely affected by the flooding. "According to the forecasts, however, the rain will not be as heavy as in the past few days," said TLUBN spokesman Nils Fröhlich. Nevertheless, water levels could rise rapidly again in some places.
According to the DWD, Christmas Eve will also bring strong winds to Thuringia. On its website, the DWD warns of gusts of wind in large parts of the state. In some places, more severe squalls with speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour are also expected.
Maier's contribution at X
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- Despite the challenging circumstances due to the floods, some residents in the district of Nordhausen might spend their Christmas holidays with water in their cellars, as confirmed by the fire director Daniel Kunze.
- On Saturday, the Süd-Thüringen-Bahn announced that train services between Sonneberg and Blechhammer were interrupted due to a washed-out level crossing in the Hüttengrund district.
- Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD), acknowledging the efforts of emergency services during the floods, wrote on Twitter that Christmas was not peaceful for firefighters in the Nordhausen and Eichsfeld districts.
- The SPD representative applauded the helpers in his online post, expressing gratitude for their tireless work during the Christmas Eve flooding in several regions, including Thuringia's Nordhausen district.
- In the district of Nordhausen, the Thuringian Weather Service (DWD) predicted further rainfall on Sunday, despite the hopes of a slight improvement at some measuring points.
- Lamenting the flooding-related fatalities, the German Weather Service (DWD) shared concerns of raised water levels in some regions, urging residents to be cautious despite the reduction in expected rainfall volume.
Source: www.stern.de
