Floods and restrictions on shipping traffic
The rainfall of the past few days has caused river levels to rise in many places in Rhineland-Palatinate. As a result, there are restrictions on shipping on the Rhine, as a spokeswoman for the Directorate-General for Waterways and Shipping said on Tuesday.
The Maxau gauge is expected to reach high water mark II on Wednesday afternoon, after which shipping traffic on the section would have to be suspended. On Thursday, a flood could be reached there, which statistically occurs every five years. On Tuesday, ships already had to travel at a reduced speed and keep to the middle of the river.
According to the Rhineland-Palatinate Flood Forecasting Service, water levels on the Upper Rhine have risen sharply recently as a result of rainfall in the Black Forest and Switzerland. On Tuesday night, water levels also rose sharply on the Nahe and Glan rivers, it said. At the small tributaries in the upper reaches of the Glan and at the Nahe gauge in Nohfelden, maximum levels in the region of a two-year flood were reached at midnight.
Levels also rose in tributaries of the Rhine, Moselle, Neckar, Lahn and Saar, according to the report. A maximum level of 6.50 meters is expected at the Trier gauge on Thursday, but this is far below a two-year flood.
"There is nothing dramatic in sight," said Joachim Knapp from the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for the Environment on Tuesday. Although a two-year flood is possible in some places, the forecast is within the "normal flood framework".
The upcoming high water mark II at the Maxau gauge on Wednesday will necessitate the suspension of shipping traffic on that section. Due to the flood conditions, shipping companies have been advised to travel at reduced speeds and stay in the center of the Rhine.
Source: www.dpa.com
