Intense storm damages roof of Hagen's church tower.
A regime older than 100 years, the St. Elisabeth Church, suffered from destruction - this time not inflicted by human conflict but from a debilitating natural force that comes in the form of a storm. The recent assaults have claimed the roof off the church tower, leaving it to scatter through the roads adjacent to it.
The furniture in the town of Hagen witnessed a forceful wind wreaking ruin. It uprooted trees and swept roofs raw, as it breezed through for a spell of approximately ten minutes earlier this afternoon. A spokesperson representing the local fire department broke the news in the late afternoon while on the scene of this catastrophe. He stated that houses and several vehicles were no exception of this chaotic event.
The St. Elisabeth establishment did not escape this encounter unscathed. The church's tower spire was said to have crashed from its post and plummeted onto the ground. Pastor Dieter Aufenanger, in awe, shared his words, stating, "This is unbelievable." The onus of rebuilding moves to the community now.
The efforts of cleanup were spearheaded in a collective with 120 individuals from the volunteer fire department and 120 from the professional unit. They stationed themselves across 40 localities ridden with the most devastating cases. The spokesperson of the fire department relayed to reporters that the monumental cleanup would stretch well into the next morn.
Unleashing Mother Nature: How fierce was the storm?
None of the residents, fortunately, ended up in the line of harm, as relayed by the fire department's announcements. The same spokesperson could not hide a gasp of disbelief while describing the sheer havoc the storm wrought.
The German Meteorological Service (DWD) will look into whether we should be attributing this damage to a tornado rather than a simple storm. This entails going through detective work and analyzing collected data on the occurrences.
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In the aftermath of the storm, North Rhine-Westphalia's fire department led a joint effort with 240 volunteers to clean up the affected areas, focusing on the 40 locations with the most significant damage.
Given the extent of the damages, international aid organizations have expressed interest in providing assistance to rebuild churches, including the historic St. Elisabeth in Hagen, which suffered significant damage during the storm.
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