Weather - Flooded basements and inundated streets after storms
A thunderstorm kept many fire departments in Lower Saxony busy throughout the night. In some regions, heavy rain threatened to flood houses. In Nordhorn, in the Grafschaft Bentheim district, firefighters reported over 100 interventions in the night. They had to pump out basements and close off flooded streets. A clinic had to temporarily close its emergency room due to water damage. Around 200 firefighters were on duty.
In Aurich, firefighters fought against the water masses all night long. Many basements and garages had to be pumped out. The hardest hit area, according to the fire department, was the Sandhorst district, where there were alone 20 intervention sites. Sandbags were also used there to protect houses from further water infiltration. Many gutters were so clogged that they could no longer absorb the rain. Several roads were therefore flooded.
Even the fire department's equipment house was under water
Firefighters were still dealing with flooded basements and streets in Ihlow, several kilometers further north, late into the night. A new housing estate was also affected. The fire department estimates that around one million liters of water were pumped out in Ihlow during the night. A small river also overflowed and flooded a residential area. The water even reached the fire department's equipment house. Firefighters were still on duty on Sunday afternoon.
In the south of Lower Saxony, the rain was accompanied by a strong wind. According to the fire department, several houses and a senior citizens' home were damaged in Dissen am Teutoburger Wald by fallen branches. The police estimate the damage at around 130,000 euros.
The German Weather Service (DWD) forecasts only scattered showers and individual thunderstorms in Lower Saxony on Sunday.
- Despite the forecast of scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms from the German Weather Service (DWD), the District Grafschaft in Nordhorn, Lower Saxony, experienced another night of bad weather with heavy rain.
- The weather in the region around Bentheim and Nordhorn was particularly challenging for the fire department, necessitating over 100 interventions to deal with flooded streets and basements.
- Just like in Nordhorn, the Fire Department in Aurich, a city located further west in Lower Saxony, encountered similar difficulties, battling flooded streets and basements in areas like Sandhorst, which reported 20 intervention sites alone.
- In Bad weather conditions, the Fire Department's equipment house in Aurich was also flooded, adding to the challenges they faced in pumping out water-logged basements and garages.
- As the rain continued to affect various parts of Lower Saxony, the Fire Department in Dissen am Teutoburger Wald was also kept busy, dealing with damage caused by fallen branches, including to several houses and a senior citizens' home, amounting to an estimated 130,000 euros in damages.
