Severe Weather Events: Storms Unleash Fury - Expected relief from floods despite heavy rain
Even though authorities warned of impending storms, the flood situation in Bavaria could improve over the weekend. The Flood Warning Service (HND) reported that multiple Danube levels in Lower Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate were no longer at the highest warning level 4 as of Friday. It was expected that other parts of the Danube would experience this dilemma over the weekend. "In Kelheim, Straubing, Deggendorf, and Hofkirchen, water levels are dropping more gradually below warning level 4," said the HND.
The German Weather Service predicts thunderstorms in the Free State and even hailstorms until Monday. The heavy rain can bring up to 40 liters of water per square meter in a short time. However, the HND experts rule out the need for a new warning: "The rainfall amounts are insignificant in this location," they commented.
On Monday, there may be higher water levels in the south due to the forecasted heavy rain, "yet according to the current forecasts, only warning levels 1 to 2 are expected". There is "a small risk that warning levels 3 to 4 will also be reached". The situation continues to be monitored.
In regions impacted by floods across Swabia to Upper Bavaria, clean-up efforts persisted on Friday, with emergency staff and residents addressing the aftermath of the disaster. The Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district announced an extension of the state of emergency until Monday. The administration of Pfaffenhofen/Ilm maintained the state of emergency. In the northern Swabian district of Donau-Ries, all evacuation recommendations were revoked, except for one district of the city of Donauworth. Access to Zusam with personal vehicles is still unattainable.
Disaster sightseers have disrupted the efforts of first responders. "Unfortunately, we are still receiving reports of gawkers," shared the Straubing-Bogen district administration. "We will have to ask people once more not to impede the emergency services and stay away from their operations." For several days, authorities in cities and districts have voiced concerns over the issue of sightseers driving to the flood-affected areas to observe.
Greenpeace held a demonstration against the CSU, exhibiting damaged furniture from flooded regions in front of the CSU headquarters in Munich. The environmental group claimed that the CSU's "flawed climate and flood protection policy" aggravated the impact of the floods. Greenpeace criticized the CSU-governed state administration for constructing an insufficient amount of wind turbines during the energy transition. Additionally, they noted that flood defenses, such as retention basins required on the rivers, were not built.
The mayors of Deggendorf and Passau, Bernd Sibler and Raimund Kneidinger (both CSU), urged increased actions in the enhancement of flood protection on the Danube in lower Bavaria between Deggendorf and Vilshofen. Mayor Sibler emphasized that the scenario was far less disastrous in this area than in 2013. However, the event evidenced that the 13-kilometer stretch demanded reinforcement with sandbags.
The floods have badly damaged the crops for numerous farmers. "Water masses have often destroyed vast regions of the harvest for this year," Markus Drexler, a spokesperson for the Bavarian Farmers' Association (BBV), shared. "The destruction of agricultural crops like wheat, beets, potatoes, and corn, as well as special crops such as field vegetables, strawberries, and raspberries, is massive and currently not quantifiable." Some farms have had entire cultivable areas underwater for extended periods.
Scientific Study Finds: Climate change increases heavy rainfall
A rapid analysis claimed that climate change increased the extent of the floods in southern Germany. The consortium Climameter attributed the extreme rainstorms that led to the floods to human-induced warming.
El Niño and other natural climate factors were not contributing factors to the deterioration of the situation. Even small rises in intensified rainfall can have disproportionate effects, the research consortium described. The Ahr Valley flood of 2021 was intensified by climate change by 3 to 19 percent. Climameter is a research project supported by the European Union and the French research organization CNRS.
