Severe storm surges expected - rail and ferry services disrupted

Weather - Severe storm surges expected - rail and ferry services disrupted

Storm "Zoltan" has reached Germany - travelers by train and ship already felt the first effects on Thursday. In the evening, there were many cancellations for Deutsche Bahn, especially in the north. Trees fell in Lower Saxony and Christmas markets were closed. Fire departments prepared for operations on Friday night. Meanwhile, people on the Elbe, Weser and Ems rivers have to prepare for severe storm surges.

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency has predicted a severe storm surge in Hamburg on Friday night. The water level of the Elbe could rise 2.5 meters above mean high water. The risk of storm surge would persist until around 11.25 pm.

Another severe storm surge was forecast by the Federal Office for Friday morning on the Elbe, Weser and Ems. Water levels are expected to rise to more than 2.5 meters above mean high water between 8.00 am and 12.00 noon.

The storm surge is triggered by the fact that the wind is currently blowing consistently strong from one direction and thus damming up the water on the North Sea coast. "Once the tidal wave has passed the North Sea islands, it will run up the rivers in its wake," said Jennifer Brauch from the authority's North Sea and Baltic Sea forecasting services. The Hamburg police warned against staying in low-lying areas around the Elbe during the expected storm surge.

Many ferries between the Halligen islands and the mainland were already canceled on Thursday, according to the Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei shipping company. A special timetable applies to other ferries on Friday. Ferry services between Rostock and Gedser in Denmark were also suspended.

Wind pushes water onto the coasts

The effects are greater for the railroads, which already have more passengers than usual due to the upcoming public holidays. A number of Deutsche Bahn's long-distance services were canceled; for example, at times there was no train on the important connection from Berlin to Hanover, as could be seen on DB's online information channels. A dpa reporter reported from a train from Hamburg to Hanover that the Hanover station could not be reached due to overcrowding. Regional and long-distance trains were also canceled at Hamburg Central Station.

According to Deutsche Bahn, there were restrictions due to storm damage on the Kiel-Hamburg, Hamburg-Westerland and Kiel-Hamburg-Bremen-NRW routes, for example. The Intercity connection between Hamburg and Copenhagen was also affected. Deutsche Bahn also reported weather-related delays and cancellations on regional services on Thursday.

DB has canceled the train service for Thursday due to the numerous disruptions. Passengers could use their ticket on a later day. However, DB also pointed out that long-distance trains are already very busy due to the upcoming Christmas holidays.

Tree falls over near bus stop

Storm "Zoltan" had already caused many calls for the fire department on Thursday. There was initial damage in Bremen and Wilhelmshaven. According to the fire department, a 15-metre-high tree fell next to a bus stop in the Hanseatic city. No one was injured. In the south of Brandenburg, the emergency services counted around 68 call-outs from the afternoon until the early evening hours. In Berlin, one person was injured by a fallen tree in the Hakenfelde district of Spandau, according to a spokesperson.

The storm also made itself felt in other countries. In Great Britain, the storm has already caused problems for travelers. Schools on the Shetland Islands remained closed. In some places, trees fell or the power went out. There were also temporary restrictions on air and rail travel. In Denmark, some flights from Copenhagen Airport were canceled, as were trains in the west of the Jutland region.

Meteorologists: Winds expected to pick up again on Friday afternoon

The German Weather Service is expecting gusts of 90 to 110 kilometers per hour for the North Sea and Baltic coasts on Friday morning, with even stronger gale-force gusts possible. Storm "Zoltan" is also continuing to cause problems for the rest of the country. Although the wind initially weakened there on Friday, it freshened up again in the second half of the day.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, continuous rain and storms left their mark. In Willebadessen near Paderborn, for example, a tree crashed onto a regional train. According to the police, the train with its 200 passengers was unable to continue its journey and had to be cleared on the open track. In Bielefeld, 60 firefighters and technical relief workers were deployed to a horse farm due to the incessant rain.

The weather also had an impact on many Christmas markets, which will soon be closing their doors anyway. In North Rhine-Westphalia, several Christmas markets remained closed on Thursday as a precautionary measure, for example in Essen and Duisburg. Düsseldorf closed in the afternoon. On Lake Tegernsee, two Christmas markets in Rottach-Egern and Bad Wiessee (both in the district of Miesbach) were unable to open on Friday due to the high wind speeds, while parks and cemeteries in many towns remained closed until Saturday.