Severe Weather: Intense Storm Approaches - Flooding Update: Tensions High Yet Optimism Persists
The streets are filled with water, the dikes are overflowing, the railways are shut down, and people are being searched for - the flood situation in Bavaria continues to be tense today. Particularly in eastern Bavaria along the Danube, the water levels are still very high.
In Regensburg, around 30 houses needed to be evacuated on Tuesday night because the ground was becoming softer due to the high groundwater. The focus of the flood helpers was the flood barriers on Werftstrasse on the banks of the Danube. "This is our weak spot," said a city representative on Wednesday morning.
The waters in Passau are gradually receding
Further downstream in Lower Bavarian Passau, the water levels on the Danube and Inn are dropping - but they are still very high. The flood in Passau will recede even more slowly on Wednesday than on Tuesday evening, according to the Bavarian Flood Information Service (HND).
Although the peak of the flood wave has shifted further downstream towards Austria, all measuring points along the Danube between Swabian Donauwörth and Passau reported water levels at the highest flood warning level on Wednesday. "We won't be able to give any breathing room until Friday," said Bavaria's Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber (Free Voters) on Wednesday on the TV station Phoenix.
Tensions remain in parts of Swabia
In the Swabian district of Donau-Ries, the flood situation remained unstable on Wednesday, but still critical. Even though the water levels were going down, "we can't warn the entire district area yet," said the district administration. "The pressure on dikes and dams is still enormous."
The evacuation recommendations for particularly endangered areas like Auchsesheim (Donauwörth) and Hamlar (Asbach-Bäumenheim) are still in place. "It is expressly advised not to think the situation is over yet," said the district administration. "Residents must be especially careful around dikes."
A missing firefighter is being searched for
In Swabia, efforts to find a firefighter who capsized in his boat during a flood rescue operation in Offingen on Sunday continued on Wednesday. The 22-year-old has not been found so far, said a Kempten police spokesman. The police were searching on land and in the air with drones for the missing person.
There is still hope that he will be found alive, said the police spokesman. "The likelihood that he will be found alive is becoming a bit less with each passing day." There were also stories like that of a 32-year-old woman who was rescued from the flooded Silberwald near Neu-Ulm on Tuesday after being trapped there for two and a half days. She had taken refuge in the area before the flood.
Troublemakers are causing problems for emergency services
Despite widespread closures and repeated warnings from authorities, people are creating issues for emergency services in flood areas. The police in Lower Bavaria reported on Wednesday that "for some time now, people have been entering closed areas in the Kelheim region to observe the flood situation up close."
The police had to disperse spectators repeatedly during the flooding. In Deggendorf, a woman was seen swimming in a flooded pedestrian underpass on Monday evening, dressed in a swimming suit.
The partially collapsed Falkenstein Castle in Upper Bavarian Flintsbach is being secured
The situation is much quieter on the Alpine border. The Falkenstein Castle in Upper Bavarian Flintsbach, which was severely damaged and partly slid towards residential buildings on Monday evening due to continuous heavy rain, is to be secured with steel cables by a specialized company. A geologist was also scheduled to examine the ground on Wednesday.
The territory must not be entered for safety reasons for the time being, the Rosenheim district administration announced on Wednesday. However, all people in the surrounding area had returned to their homes by Wednesday.
Many roads and railway lines are still closed
Due to flooding and landslides, numerous roads and railway lines were still closed in various regions of Bavaria on Wednesday. According to the railway, there were no trains running between Donauwörth and Augsburg as well as between Nuremberg and Würzburg. The heavily stressed long-distance traffic route between Ulm and Augsburg was partially open. As a result, some trains ended their journey early, others were delayed by about 45 minutes.
Occasional thunderstorms with heavy rain possible
The weather service (DWD) expects showers and thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday - heavy rain is only likely on the eastern Alpine fringe. At noon and evening on Wednesday, isolated thunderstorms with up to 15 liters per square meter per hour are not ruled out.
Three deaths reported in Bavaria
At least five people lost their lives as a result of the floods in southern Germany, three of them in Bavaria. According to the Bavarian Interior Ministry, several people were also missing on Tuesday. Their number, however, fluctuated almost constantly.
According to Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), more than 60,000 people have been involved in the flood response in recent days. More than 6,600 evacuations were necessary by Tuesday.
