Weather - Floods keep Lower Saxony on tenterhooks: reservoirs full
Days of continuous rain caused a tense flood situation in large parts of Lower Saxony over the holidays. Numerous rivers burst their banks and turned the surrounding areas into lake landscapes. In Northeim in southern Lower Saxony and Uplengen in the district of Leer, dams burst, while the first evacuations took place in Rinteln (district of Schaumburg) and Sandkrug (district of Oldenburg). In the Harz Mountains, two dams overflowed and the city of Braunschweig prepared for a new crest wave of the River Oker late on Tuesday evening. The fire department and technical relief organization were in constant action to secure dams with sandbags.
Minister President Stephan Weil visited areas affected by the floods on Tuesday to see the situation for himself. During a visit to Northeim, where a dam had burst, he thanked the tens of thousands of helpers for their efforts over the holidays. "It shows that this commitment is really urgently needed," said the SPD politician. However, it is still too early to sound the all-clear. "It is absolutely clear that we are not out of the woods yet."
The authorities do not expect the situation to ease in the next few days, despite the easing of the rain. "The situation is actually very tense throughout Lower Saxony," said Anne Rickmeyer, Director of the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation.
The German Weather Service lifted its severe weather warnings due to heavy rain on Tuesday. "But that doesn't mean that we're already seeing falling water levels everywhere," said Rickmeyer. "For now, I'm happy that it's not supposed to rain for two to three days." However, it will still take time for the water that is now in the rivers to drain into the North Sea. On Tuesday afternoon, 49 water gauges in the state showed the warning level, which warns of flooding of buildings.
Braunschweig prepared itself on Tuesday for a new flood wave in the River Oker, which was expected to reach the city late in the evening. In the morning, the Oker dam in the Harz Mountains had flooded and the automatic emergency spillway had been opened. The excess water poured into the river in a large fountain and caused the water level there to rise further. Hundreds of onlookers watched the event at the dam on Tuesday.
"This is an extraordinary situation," said Andreas Lange, Head of Resources and authorized signatory at the operator Harzwasserwerke. The last time there was a situation like this was in 1994. 20 cubic meters of water per second are now flowing from the dam into the river. The Innerste reservoir is now also full. However, the situation is even better at the other four dams in the Harz Mountains. Some of the surplus water from the Okertal dam can currently still be discharged into the Granetal dam, which is not yet full.
NLWKN boss Rickmeyer is also expecting rising water levels on the Middle Weser. The highest level has apparently been reached in Hannoversch Münden, where the Fulda and Werra merge to form the Weser. But it will still take some time for this peak to arrive further down the river. "We are also expecting peak water levels in the next few days." The city of Oldenburg is also not expecting the Hunte to peak until the next few days.
According to state fire director Dieter Rohrberg, 100,000 firefighters are on permanent duty in Lower Saxony alone. In addition, there were forces from the technical relief organization and other aid organizations. Drones were also used to keep an eye on the situation from the air.
Dams had already burst on Monday in Northeim in the south and Uplengen near Leer. In Northeim, the water fortunately only flowed into an adjacent gravel pit, said state fire director Rohrberg. In Rinteln (Schamburg district), the residents of a street near the town wall were evacuated on Tuesday because the cellars were in danger of flooding. In Sandkrug in the district of Oldenburg, two streets were evacuated on Monday evening.
In addition to the Okertalsperre and Northeim, Weil also visited the Hildesheim district situation center and the volunteer fire department in Sarstedt (Hildesheim district) on Tuesday, where the Innerste flows into the Leine. Numerous onlookers found their way to the town, reported Christoph Haferland, mayor of the Sarstedt district of Ruthe: "I'm speechless about this disaster tourism."
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- Despite the lift of severe weather warnings in Lower Saxony, the flood situation remains tense, especially in areas like Braunschweig near the overflowing Oker dam.
- In the district of Brunswick, Germany, residents are closely monitoring the continuous rain and its impact on the flooded Oker River, leading to concerns about further flood waves.
- The empty dam in the Harz Mountains of southern Lower Saxony released excess water into the River Oker, creating a large foam castle in the area, watched by hundreds of onlookers.
- Minor flooding occurred in Rinteln, a town in Lower Saxony, leading to evacuations of nearby streets due to potential cellar flooding.
- The flood situation in Northeim, located in Lower Saxony's southern region, resulted in local dams bursting, resulting in significant damage to the surrounding area.
- In the district of Leer, the breaching of a dam led to flooding in the village of Uplengen, but fortunately, the water only flowed into an adjacent gravel pit.
- Stephan Weil, Minister President of Lower Saxony, visited the flooded areas, including the city of Oldenburg, where the wide Hunte River is expected to peak in the coming days.
- Over the holidays, the heavy rainfall and flood conditions in Lower Saxony spread to several districts, including Braunschweig and Rinteln, causing extensive damage to properties and infrastructure.
- Technical relief organizations, including the fire department, have played a vital role in monitoring and securing dams with sandbags throughout the flood situation in Lower Saxony and neighboring regions.
- The neighboring district of Lower Saxony, Southern Lower Saxony, has also experienced the effects of the severe weather, with the Middle Weser river anticipated to peak in the coming days, following the increase in water levels upstream in Hannoversch Münden.
Source: www.stern.de
