Flood - Rising water levels due to rain: Storm warning for Harz
The flood situation worsened in many areas of Lower Saxony on Christmas Eve. An acute warning was issued for Rodenberg (district of Schaumburg), and the situation was also precarious in Sarstedt (district of Hildesheim) and Hann. Münden (district of Göttingen). Emergency services were in constant action, and in many places sandbags were used to try to combat the masses of water. The German Weather Service (DWD) issued severe weather warnings for the Harz Mountains. There were also warnings of gale-force winds on the Brocken. In the Göttingen district, 1500 to 1800 emergency services are deployed, and the district is expecting maximum river levels over the entire Christmas period.
"We have a very wet phase, the rain will not stop any time soon," said a DWD spokeswoman on Sunday. "The situation is tense in Lower Saxony, in many areas there is medium or high flooding," she emphasized. After the storm depression "Zoltan", the foothills of a low pressure system from the Atlantic are moving over the mainland. It will remain wet, with a tendency towards late Tuesday and Wednesday night. New precipitation is expected on Wednesday.
According to the Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency (NLWKN), 30 gauges had reached the third of four warning levels on Sunday morning. The rivers Weser, Aller, Leine and Oker, among others, exceeded this threshold. At level three, flooding of properties and larger areas as well as roads and cellars is possible.
In Rodenberg in the district of Schaumburg in Lower Saxony, fire departments and volunteers protected areas with sandbags. The mayor of the joint municipality, Thomas Wolf, reported on Sunday morning that the floodwater was flowing over the weir. Helpers had run from house to house to warn the residents. Sirens had sounded warnings on Sunday night. A total of 300 helpers were deployed, from the fire department as well as from the technical relief organization. There had not been a flood like this in the municipality for 25 years.
Sarstedt also braced itself against the pressure from the Innerste. "The water levels on the Leine and the Innerste are quite high," Mayor Heike Brennecke (SPD) told the German Press Agency. The Innerste flows into the Leine at the small town, which is under heavy pressure. The retention basins were running full. She emphasized that everything is currently still under control, even if the water levels continue to rise slightly. The water was coming from the Harz Mountains, where the reservoirs could hardly hold any more.
A mobile flood protection system had been used for the first time: "It worked great, it saved thousands of sandbags." Because the new system could not handle everything, additional pumps and many thousands of bags of sand were filled, including for the neighboring communities. Aerial photos showed the flooding of the fields in the Leinemasch south of Hanover. The situation in Hildesheim eased somewhat.
In the state capital, the fire department was in constant action after persistent rain and sometimes heavy gusts of wind. A lot of water damage was reported in buildings and trees also had to be removed. In the past 24 hours, firefighters were called out to 52 incidents in Hanover, according to the fire department.
In towns such as Lehrte, the rainwater retention basins are also at full capacity and some are overflowing. The city called on citizens to do what they could to help themselves and to secure cellar accesses on their own.
The situation in Oldenburg continued to worsen. According to the city, the retention basins in the Haaren-Wasseracht area would no longer be able to cope with further rainfall. The fire department appealed to residents living near the water to secure their property and any cellars in case of flooding. The emergency services were primarily concerned with acute danger prevention. It was also urgently recommended to avoid paths along the watercourses. Dangerous situations could arise very quickly.
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- Despite the severe flood situation, the district of Schaumburg's district office in Rodenberg remained operational, managing the situation as best as possible.
- Rivers like the Weser, Aller, Leine, and Oker in the county of Göttingen broke their warning levels, causing medium to high flooding in many areas.
- On Saint's Eve, the fire department in Hildesheim (district of Hildesheim) was on high alert due to the rising water levels, with several incidents reported.
- In response to the storm warning, authorities in Harz issued an operational force to prepare for potential floods, with residents being warned to stay indoors.
- The heavy rain and flooding in the Hanover district resulted in a call for citizens to fill sandbags to help protect their homes and properties, with a mobile flood protection system also being utilized.
- The unusually high water levels in Sarstedt (district of Hildesheim) led the fire department to monitor the situation closely, with retention basins and cellars at risk of flooding.
- Despite the ongoing bad weather, residents in towns such as Lehrte were advised to secure their own properties, as the city's rainwater retention basins were already at full capacity.
- Emergency services in Lower Saxony struggled to keep up with the flood situation, with up to 1,500 personnel deployed in the Göttingen district alone and many still awaiting evacuation.
- The heavy rain and gale-force winds in the Harz Mountains threatened to cause further flooding, with residents advised to stay indoors as a precautionary measure.
- As the New Year approached, residents and emergency services in villages like Hildesheim and Sarstedt continued their efforts to combat the floods, with hopes for a drier year ahead.
Source: www.stern.de
