Thunderstorm cell discharges over Detmold - railroad lines closed
Severe weather events are passing over the country. In some parts of Germany, local areas have seen more rain in a few hours than in the entire month. Fire departments are in constant operation. Roads are flooded, basements are filling up. In some places, train traffic has been disrupted.
Weather events have led to fire department interventions and traffic disruptions in parts of Germany. The railway line between Bremen and Hamburg was closed in the evening. Long-distance trains are being rerouted over Hannover, as the railway announced. The length of the closure of the section near Tostedt in Lower Saxony due to heavy rain is unclear.
In the city of Detmold in North Rhine-Westphalia, according to city officials, up to 100 liters of rain per square meter fell within a short time. A thunderstorm cell with immense power passed over the north-eastern part of the city, it was reported. In North Rhine-Westphalia, there was an average of 91 liters of rain per square meter in the entire month of April - and that was around 50% more rainfall than in average years.
The Federal Road 239 was flooded for approximately two kilometers. The water stood at around 60 centimeters high on the bypass, said a police spokesman in the evening. Currently, the fire department does not see any possibility of pumping away the rainwater. "The water would run back onto the fields immediately", said the police spokesman. No one was harmed by the weather, but there were two accidents, both resulting in damage to vehicles.
The city of Detmold further reported that parts of the inner city and especially the district of Klüten were particularly affected. The fire department was called to over 150 interventions. Numerous basements had to be pumped out.
Heavy thunderstorms also kept the fire department busy in parts of Thuringia. The Federal Road 281 near Neuhaus had to be closed early in the evening due to flooding, according to a spokeswoman for the crisis center in Erfurt. The fire department was also in action in Gerthausen in the south-west of Thuringia, according to the responsible rescue control center, to pump out basements. Parts of the town were briefly under water due to heavy rain, as the creek Herpf swelled quickly. In the region around Hermsdorf, more than 50 liters of rainfall were measured.
At noon, a lightning strike hit a semi-detached house in Ilmenau (Ilm-Kreis) and caused extensive damage. According to MDR, the residents were not at home at the time of the incident. The house is no longer habitable.
In the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in Hesse, the voluntary fire department was called to over 200 interventions by the early evening. Mostly it was about full basements and flooded roads. According to the statements, the professional schools in Bebra will remain closed on Friday, as the rooms are filled with water. The teaching will be conducted via distance learning.
In Hannover, several park areas were closed due to a weather warning. According to NDR, the airport's air traffic was briefly halted.
In Hamburg, there were also numerous reports of cars hydroplaning due to heavy rain. Several gutters had overflowed and branches or trees had fallen onto roads, according to the police. A tree had fallen onto the S-Bahn tracks in Hamburg-Bergedorf, a spokesperson for Deutsche Bahn stated. The long-distance traffic in the direction of Berlin was temporarily disrupted by this closure. This closure has since been lifted. The NDR reported 600 such incidents in Hamburg. In some places, the water was knee-high in the streets.
Similarly, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the police and fire department were in action. Lightning strikes set a field and a straw press on fire, as reported by the NDR. The B104 between Schwerin and Rampe had to be closed for two hours due to several trees falling onto the road.
The severe weather in Germany also affected Thuringia, leading to the closure of the Federal Road 281 near Neuhaus due to flooding. In Lower Saxony, the railway line between Bremen and Hamburg was disrupted, causing long-distance trains to be rerouted over Hannover. International travelers using German Railways should be aware of potential disruptions across several regions.
