Floods: water levels continue to rise

Storm - Floods: water levels continue to rise

There is great concern about further rising water levels in the flood areas in Germany. The German Weather Service (DWD) has announced continuous rain with large amounts of rain in some areas.

Tense situation in Lower Saxony

After a night of heavy rain and strong winds, the flood situation in parts of Lower Saxony and Bremen remains critical. According to an overview by the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation, many river levels are still at reporting level 3, which means that there is a risk of major flooding.

Locations on the Weser, Aller and Leine were affected, as were some of their tributaries. The river Hase, a tributary of the middle Ems in the district of Osnabrück, also reached reporting level 3. The authorities warned of major flooding in numerous areas. In the federal state of Bremen, for example, the Bremen district of Timmersloh is affected by flooding.

In many places, large areas are under water. Many towns and cities are fighting against flooding with numerous emergency services, securing dykes and erecting additional protective barriers. The situation is tense in the districts of Celle, Oldenburg, Emsland, Osterholz, Heidekreis and Verden, where large amounts of rain are expected.

Lower Saxony, parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, the south of Saxony-Anhalt and the north of Thuringia are still particularly affected. According to the flood information service of the Bavarian State Office for the Environment, flood level two was expected to be reached in places in eastern Bavaria during the night. In the catchment area of the river Regen in the district of Cham, even level 3 was possible. Some rivers in the district of Bamberg in northern Bavaria are also expected to reach this warning level.

According to the weather service, high amounts of rain are expected in some areas from Lower Saxony to the Black Forest and in the eastern and south-eastern low mountain ranges until Thursday. Meteorologists expect 30 to 50 liters per square meter within 30 to 60 hours, and up to 100 liters in the mountains. In parts of Baden-Württemberg, DWD warnings of heavy continuous rain have been lifted.

Compulsory school attendance suspended

In the flood area on the border between Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, compulsory school attendance has been suspended in some places. Schools in Kelbra, Roßla and Wallhausen will remain closed on Thursday and Friday, the district of Mansfeld-Südharz announced on Tuesday evening. Emergency care will be provided. During the night, the Leina river overflowed its banks in the town of the same name in Thuringia.

In Altenglan in Rhineland-Palatinate, a rainwater retention basin could overflow due to the persistent rain. For this reason, an evacuation of the buildings in one street was initially announced on Tuesday evening. However, residents could now stay in their homes for the time being, a fire department spokesperson told the German Press Agency at around 10.00 pm. The situation also remained stable for the time being during the night.

In Lower Saxony, the state reserve of around 1.9 million sandbags had been used up on Tuesday, apart from a small remainder, as the State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) announced during the night. The federal state is now also drawing on reserves from other federal states. Lower Saxony has now received around 1.5 million bags. The sandbags are being used to reinforce dykes, for example.

According to its president Sabine Lackner, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) assumes that the challenges for the disaster control organization are generally becoming ever greater. At the moment, the THW is well positioned in terms of civil protection and is able to provide efficient assistance in many places at the same time in the current flood situation, Lackner told the Rheinische Post newspaper. "Nevertheless, the current situation once again dramatically demonstrates that the challenges facing the THW are becoming ever greater, also due to extreme weather events, the massive effects of which we are currently experiencing in various regions of Germany."

Flood events likely to occur more frequently in future

As a consequence of the flooding, experts are calling for a rethink of flood protection. "In the course of climate change, where the flood processes will change, we will certainly see other types of floods in the future," said Ralf Merz, hydrologist at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Halle (Saale), on Deutschlandfunk radio. "Such long flood events will certainly occur more often in the future."

A lot of damage could be avoided, said the hydrologist. According to Merz, consideration should be given to whether the current flood protection still works. "Because perhaps what we have learned from the past is not always a good measure for the future."

The expert pointed out, for example, that there are now far fewer floodplains - i.e. natural floodplains. At the same time, the expert pointed out: "Of course, we will never have one hundred percent flood protection. It is not financially or technically feasible and the landscape cannot be converted."