Weather event featuring strong winds, heavy rain, and possibly hail or snow. - Southern Germany suffers from heavy flooding.
A car submerged in a city fountain, resembling a toy cast aside. Deluges of brown water overflow onto a federal highway, as a noise barrier can no longer cope with the water pressure and explodes. People trying to shield their homes with beer tables from the floods.
The images resulting from the floods in extensive areas of South Germany are captivating. The aftermath is equally devastating. After the water recedes, not only the severe damage and mounds of dirt become visible. On Monday, rescue squads discover three deceased individuals in basements in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
The situation in the flooded regions remains in flux: Numerous minor communities are affected, with thousands of responders still operating. Dams in Bavaria are in peril of collapsing, further intensifying the flow of the flood towards the east of the state. In Baden-Württemberg, authorities are cautiously optimistic and lift alerts in certain places.
The tally of casualties rises onwards
Yet, the sorrow from the deceased in the flood-stricken zones lingers: A woman is found expired in the cellar of a house in the Upper Bavarian Schrobenhausen - a missing 43-year-old, whose whereabouts had been sought since Sunday. The bodies of a man and a woman are identified in the particularly flood-affected Rems-Murr-Kreis in Baden-Württemberg - both discovered in a flooded cellar. The circumstances of their deaths remain unknown. A firefighter perished during the flood rescue, while another firefighter is missing in Swabia.
The two deceased in Baden-Württemberg remain unidentified, as Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) pays a visit to South Germany in the morning to grasp the situation. Chancellor Scholz has previously attended sad flood sites. "This is the fourth time this year that I've come to a particular emergency area to check things out," Scholz states in front of the fire department's command post in Upper Bavaria's Reichertshofen.
The calamities mount
In rubber boots, he had inspected the partially flooded small river Paar earlier in the day, which inundated the market town. Whole street sections were flooded here, as in many other portions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The persistent rainfall from the weekend brings disaster to tens of thousands of people. "We cannot overlook the responsibility of preventing human-induced climate change," declares Scholz. "That is also a message embodied in this incident and tragedy."
While here in Reichertshofen, pumps and generators are laboring to drain flooded cellars, people are still at odds with the floods elsewhere. Images show residents of the town of Burgau east of Ulm, who have constructed barricades to safeguard their properties - with sandbags and beer tables. In the neighboring Günzburg, a resident informs the "Tagesschau," he has been active since 5:00 a.m., "Basement and living room - everything is underwater." An elderly woman, whose residence was being cleared by rescuers, declares solemnly, "That's my home!"
Rays of hope [end]
In Baden-Württemberg, the situation appears to settle slightly. Recently, the emergency personnel's efforts were primarily concentrated around Stuttgart and further east. In Rudersberg, a district in the Rems-Murr region northeast of the state capital, water has uplifted cars, several of which came to rest on train tracks, one on a fountain in the city center, as demonstrated in images from Monday.
On muddy roads, household items have been washed out of houses, a sneaker, puzzle pieces. On a bridge, an accumulation of debris is visible. In Miedelsbach, a section of Schorndorf, water masses have piled cars upon each other overnight. At least on Monday, there are indicators of relief in the area, with alerts being canceled. Interior Minister of the state, Thomas Strobl, defines it as a "tense static" situation.
In Bavaria, however, considering the Danube is now the focus of concern. "We can see that the flood is moving," remarks Söder, who accompanies Scholz on a flood tour. The city of Regensburg declares a state of emergency on Monday. The severity of the predicament remains uncertain. "We hope to weather the next few days well," says Söder. "We remain on alert."
Read also:
- The heavy rain and thunderstorm caused trains in Southern Germany to temporarily halt their operations, adding to the chaos.
- Despite the flooding, some locals in Bavaria managed to use their creative resources, constructing makeshift dams using toys and car parts.
- The weather event in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria resulted in flooded train tracks, causing disruptions in German Railways services.
- Local citizens in Schrobenhausen, including a woman, were forced to evacuate their homes due to the rising floodwaters, despite their efforts to protect their property with sandbags and car parts.
- Nancy Faeser, the Federal Minister of the Interior, and Olaf Scholz, the Federal Chancellor, both expressed concerns about the impact of climate change on such extreme weather events during their visits to flood-stricken regions in Southern Germany.
- In Reichertshofen, rescue teams used cars to navigate through the flooded streets, aiding affected residents in evacuating their homes.
- According to authorities, the recent flooding in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria caused significant damage to numerous road and railway infrastructure, including several bridges.
- The clean-up efforts following the floods revealed a high number of discarded items, such as car parts and toys, washed away by the floodwaters.
- In the aftermath of the flooding, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg's governments asked for support from various other German states and the European Union to help manage the recovery process.
- On Sunday, a recently reconstructed train station in Bavaria was hit by the floodwaters, causing extensive damage to the building and the tracks, further hindering transportation services.
- The flooding in Bavaria also affected the shipment of goods, as the storm caused disruptions on the Danube River, a major transportation route in the region.
