Continuous rain threatens in flood areas until Friday night
There has never been a flood of this magnitude before, says Lower Saxony's Minister President Weil. The situation remains threatening: meteorologists are expecting more rain and evacuations are being prepared. At least the situation seems to be easing in the east.
In the flood areas, the situation remains threatening. The German Weather Service (DWD) is forecasting more heavy rainfall for several regions. In the congested areas of the Bergisches Land and Siegerland in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the Harz mountains, continuous rain is expected until Saturday night. Up to 40 liters per square meter could fall within 24 hours. The situation is mainly tense in Lower Saxony. Many fire departments are also working continuously in eastern Germany.
In Lower Saxony, areas along the rivers Aller, Leine and Weser in the southern and central part of the state are affected. The situation there worsened further on Thursday. Dikes were no longer able to withstand the masses of water everywhere. Thousands of aid workers were deployed across the country. Evacuations were prepared in some places. In the municipality of Langlingen in the district of Celle, around 120 people left their houses and apartments as a precaution on Friday night.
Extraordinary event
This morning, the state government of Lower Saxony will give an update on the flood situation at a press conference. Minister President Stephan Weil said on Thursday that there had never been a flood of this magnitude before. "Experts have been warning for a long time that the increasingly frequent extreme weather events are linked to climate change," he said. According to the Ministry of the Interior, a so-called exceptional event was declared in six districts and the city of Oldenburg. This measure makes it easier for districts to access emergency services.
The all-clear has not yet been given around Bremen either. According to the authorities on Thursday evening, numerous houses along the Wümme in the Katrepel area are surrounded by water and without power. Most of the residents had left the area. In the district of Timmersloh, the water is standing on the dykes. Roads and fields were flooded. According to information from the interior authorities, measures have already had to be taken several times to secure the dykes.
No all-clear on the Elbe
Rising water levels are expected on the Elbe in Dresden. On Thursday afternoon, 5.92 meters were measured. This was still just below the six-meter mark, above which the second-highest alert level 3 would apply. The State Flood Control Center expects this limit to be exceeded on Friday morning - but only very slightly at a maximum of 6.01 meters. A water level of two meters is normal in the Elbe in the state capital.
However, hydrologists expect the Elbe floods to recede immediately, according to a spokesman for the State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology. Only localized light rain is expected, and neither precipitation nor snowmelt is expected in the Czech catchment area of the Elbe until Friday.
View of the Kelbra dam
Downstream in Magdeburg and Schönebeck in Saxony-Anhalt, the State Office for Flood Protection and Water Management opened the Pretzien weir on Thursday. This means that around a third of the Elbe's water will be diverted past the two towns through a bypass channel and across meadows and fields before flowing back into the Elbe.
In the north of Thuringia , visitors can see the Kelbra dam, from which water has been released. In the village of Mönchpfiffel-Nikolausrieth, around 30 houses were in danger of being flooded, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior. Emergency services had set up 6000 sandbags on the banks of the river to prevent this. According to the information, the water was about ten centimetres below the edge of the bank.
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The flood situation in Lower Saxony continues to be critical, with areas along the Aller, Leine, and Weser rivers being particularly affected. Stephan Weil, the state's Minister President, mentioned that this is the worst flood the region has ever experienced, linking it to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change. In the city of Magdeburg and Schönebeck in Saxony-Anhalt, measures have been taken to manage the rising water levels on the Elbe. Despite predictions of the Elbe floods receding, the situation remains tense, especially in cities like Dresden.
Source: www.ntv.de
