Storm - Floods in northern Thuringia: Windehausen is evacuated
The flood situation in northern Thuringia remains tense. The town of Windehausen in the district of Nordhausen is trapped by water and was to be completely evacuated from Monday afternoon, as Minister President Bodo Ramelow (Left Party) wrote on the internet platform X (formerly Twitter). "I hope that all those affected by the floods will be able to return home as soon as possible," wrote Ramelow.
According to Matthias Marquardt, mayor of the town of Heringen, to which Windehausen belongs, a sports hall is available to accommodate the approximately 400 inhabitants of Windehausen. The residents of Windehausen had already been called upon to evacuate voluntarily on Christmas Eve. Initially, however, only a few responded.
According to the district fire director for Nordhausen, Daniel Kunze, the water in the village is up to 70 centimetres high. There is also no electricity in Windehausen. This had already had to be switched off on Christmas Eve due to water in the transformer house. The drains were also not working due to the flooding. The village is currently no longer passable. On Christmas Day, it continued to rain cats and dogs in Windehausen.
The situation was also still tense in parts of southern Thuringia on Christmas Day. A flood warning was issued for the district of Hildburghausen. This applies to the villages of Oberrod and Rappelsdorf, as the Hildburghausen district office announced on Monday. Due to the prevailing weather conditions, flooding with a rapidly rising peak is forecast.
The Office for Fire and Disaster Protection advised that preparatory measures should be taken in the area of streams and watercourses. There is a risk of flooding of streets, cellars and first floors, it said. Near Oberrod, an embankment had been drenched. The fire department then pumped out the water and diverted it away from the village to protect it from flooding.
It had rained heavily for several days in a row in Thuringia and snowed in the mountains. Numerous roads had to be closed due to flooding and water had to be pumped out of cellars. The German Weather Service (DWD) is expecting further rainfall in the state. However, according to the forecasts, the rain will not be as heavy as in the past few days, said Nils Fröhlich, spokesman for the Thuringian State Office for the Environment, Mining and Nature Conservation. The trend towards falling water levels is therefore expected to continue.
Nevertheless, rapidly rising water levels could occur again in some places. The flood situation had largely stabilized across the country on Christmas Day. However, the water levels were still at a high level, as Fröhlich said.
At five gauges in the area up to Meiningen, the water levels were above reporting level two on Monday. At the Hinternah gauge in southern Thuringia, the second-highest reporting level three of the four-level scale was still exceeded. The flood wave is currently running down the Werra, causing water levels to rise above reporting level one. However, it is unlikely that reporting level two will be reached, according to the flood information center.
Flood information center
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- Despite the tense flood situation in northern Thuringia, Minister President Bodo Ramelow expressed hope for a swift return of affected Windehausen residents after the evacuation.
- The evacuation of Windehausen, located in Southern Thuringia's Nordhausen district, was initially had to be voluntary on Christmas Eve, with only a few residents responding.
- Due to the flooding, the water in Windehausen reached up to 70 centimeters, causing an interruption in electricity supply and malfunctioning drains, making the village inaccessible.
- On Christmas Day, it continued to rain heavily in Windehausen, adding to the flood situation and causing further anxiety in the region.
- In Southern Thuringia on Christmas Day, a flood warning was issued for the district of Hildburghausen, specifically for the villages of Oberrod and Rappelsdorf, due to the prevailing weather conditions.
- In an effort to prevent flooding, preparatory measures were advised for areas adjacent to streams and watercourses, and an embankment near Oberrod was pumped out and diverted away from the village.
- The German Weather Service (DWD) anticipated further rainfall in Thuringia but assured that it would not be as intense as the recent days, expecting a downward trend in water levels.
- Despite the improved flood situation across Germany on Christmas Day, the water levels remained high, with five gauges in the Meiningen area still exceeding reporting level two.
- The flood wave running down the Werra was causing water levels to rise above reporting level one at some points, but there was a slim chance of reporting level two being reached, according to the flood information center.
Source: www.stern.de
