Mobile dykes, lots of helpers: state struggles with floods

Floods - Mobile dykes, lots of helpers: state struggles with floods

The flood situation in some regions of Lower Saxony remains tense. The districts of Celle, Oldenburg, Emsland, Osterholz, Heidekreis and Verden were affected on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of the Interior in Hanover.

Rivers with too much water

According to an overview by the State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation, many river levels exceeded the highest reporting level. This means that there is a risk of major flooding. Locations on the Weser, Aller and Leine were affected. The flood situation in the areas of the Hase and Hunte rivers is also in danger of worsening if it continues to rain. The Hase is a tributary of the Ems and flows through several districts such as Osnabrück and Emsland. The Hunte is a tributary of the Weser.

The German Weather Service (DWD) expected continuous rain in some areas of Lower Saxony until Wednesday. Rainfall of between 40 and 50 liters per square meter was expected in the districts particularly affected by the flooding, such as Celle, Verden and Oldenburg. The DWD also issued a severe weather warning for the Harz Mountains due to persistent rain.

Support from the air possible

A federal police helicopter was deployed several times due to the flooding and transported around 36 tons of sand by Tuesday, according to a spokesperson. This was used to secure dykes, for example. Due to the situation in Lower Saxony, Bundeswehr helicopters are also on standby. This involves a total of ten aircraft from the army, navy and air force, which are spread across several locations in the federal state, according to the Lower Saxony state command. Should a deployment be necessary, the helicopters could, for example, assist with evacuations and the transportation of heavy sandbags.

Lilienthal - emergency services in continuous operation

The situation is challenging in the municipality of Lilienthal near Bremen, for example. "The emergency services are still working around the clock to assess the situation," said a spokeswoman for the municipality. The fire department, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), the German Life Saving Association (DLRG), the German Red Cross (DRK) and numerous farmers have been working continuously for days because of the flooding. The willingness of the population to help is huge. "We are overwhelmed by the solidarity here. We have a lot of help from different directions. The whole community is sticking together," said the spokeswoman. Around 20,000 people live in Lilienthal.

Almost 100 people in Lilienthal are currently unable to return to their houses or apartments, having been forced to leave their homes on the night of December 28. A further 350 people have since been able to return to their homes, according to the spokeswoman. The dykes soaked by the water were stabilized with sandbags. In order to protect threatened houses, a barrier with extra-large sandbags was also erected as close as possible to the dyke. One such bag weighed up to 1.3 tons, according to the spokeswoman. These so-called big bags were placed in two rows along a line around 250 meters long.

Elsewhere, a mobile dyke around 800 meters long was set up - also as a preventative safety measure. The mobile dyke was initially filled with air; if necessary, the emergency services can quickly pump water into the large hose to create a stable protective barrier.

Emergency dyke in Oldenburg

The city of Oldenburg is also protecting itself against flooding with a mobile dyke. The dyke along a length of around two kilometers in Sandkruger Straße is ready, the city announced on Tuesday. Any remaining gaps are to be closed with sandbags, among other things, in the event of an emergency. This is a precautionary measure in case the Huntedeich can no longer withstand the masses of water.

Fire departments from Duisburg, Rostock, Hanau and Augsburg provided the mobile safety equipment and water barriers. According to the city, the emergency dyke will offer the same level of protection at all points despite the different heights. Due to the flooding, several hundred people in Oldenburg should prepare for a possible evacuation.

All-clear for the Serengeti Park

Meanwhile, the critical flood situation at the Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, Lower Saxony, has eased. The water has receded again, according to a spokeswoman for the theme park north of Hanover. The main access road to the park is passable again. However, there is still no central power supply and generators are being used. "Some animals are still in temporary accommodation," said the spokesperson - such as blue wildebeest and meerkats. In the past few days, park employees had prepared an emergency plan for transporting antelopes and giraffes under anaesthetic. This plan did not have to be implemented as the water in the animal house sank again. Such anesthesia would have been a great risk for the animals, said the spokeswoman.

Reservoirs in the Harz Mountains very full

The reservoirs in the Harz Mountains are still very full. The filling level of the Okertalsperre, for example, is still at around 90 percent, said a spokesman for the Harz waterworks in Hildesheim on Tuesday. The situation is being continuously analyzed together with experts from the Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency (NLWKN). The German Weather Service (DWD) had warned of severe weather for the Harz Mountains on Monday. Heavy continuous rain is expected for Tuesday and Wednesday, it said. Due to the high levels, more water than usual is currently being drained from the reservoirs in a controlled manner.

From Tuesday last week, water was released from the reservoirs via emergency spillways for several days because the planned maximum storage capacity had been exceeded. The so-called spillway then automatically goes into operation. This ended at the Okertalsperre on Thursday. Even when dams are more than 100 percent full, the water does not overflow uncontrollably because the dam walls are built high enough.

Overview from the NLWKN Weather forecast from the German Weather Service for Lower Saxony NLWKN on the flood situation NLWKN reports on the flood situation NLWKN map with water level warning levels DWD warning situation report for Lower Saxony and Bremen Message from the city