Inundating waters reach Brandenburg.
The rising waters of the Oder river persist after a fortnight of persistent rainfall, prompting Brandenburg to elevate the flood alert level in another area of the waterway. The minister president is forecasted to inspect two severely impacted spots in the afternoon.
The flood conditions in Brandenburg have escalated: Another part is now under the highest flood alert level 4, as the state environmental agency disclosed late in the night. Previous to Ratzdorf, disaster response procedures are now in action for Eisenhüttenstadt as well.
Flood alert level 4 activates when massive flooding, including roads and structures, is imminent. Consequently, disaster response measures are instigated for evacuation preparation, among other tasks. Anticipating the predicted flood surge, local authorities along the lower Oder had already established crisis squads and initiated riverbank protection strategies before the weekend.
Approximately ten days have passed since the significant rains affected the Oder's origin regions in Poland and the Czech Republic. Surprisingly, the German border has yet to witness the flood wave's peak.
"Borders Oder water levels continue to ascend," the interstate flood portal confirms. A warning for "extremely high flood" on the highest notification level is given for the Oder river basin stretching from Ratzdorf to Stettin.
In Eisenhüttenstadt, the early morning gauge reading was 6.40 meters. The environmental agency foresees an even further rise during the day. In Ratzdorf, where the Oder passes from Poland into Germany, the reading was 6.10 meters in the early morning hours.
Check the current reading for Ratzdorf here.
Brandenburg's Minister President Dietmar Woidke intends to examine the two most impacted locations in the afternoon, as revealed by the state chancellery in Potsdam. He will reportedly begin with Eisenhüttenstadt before proceeding to Ratzdorf. Frankfurt (Oder), on the other hand, still remains below the six-meter threshold, where alert level 3 is enforced.
Further downstream, in the Märkisch-Oderland district, alert level 2 has been in effect since this morning for the Oder river section that begins at kilometer 589.8. The Oder seeps into the Szczecin Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea, about 120 kilometers north of Frankfurt (Oder).
Given the escalating flood conditions, the Commission makes the following decision: Alert level 4 is extended to the affected area in Eisenhüttenstadt, necessitating the immediate activation of disaster response measures. Consequently, the Commission instructs local authorities to implement evacuation preparations and other necessary tasks to mitigate the impact of the impending flood surge.
