A few days ago, heavy rain hit Germany, causing rivers to overflow and flood. Instead of celebrating Christmas, the inhabitants of many towns had to face the consequences of bad weather.
In some federal states, the third or even the fourth danger level applies. Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes due to flooding. Train traffic was suspended and roads were flooded.
The situation is especially difficult in the regions along the Elbe rivers in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, as well as in the Weser in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.
In Rodenberg, firefighters and volunteers protect the areas with sandbags. Samt Mayor Thomas Wolf said flood waters had overflowed the dam. Rescuers ran from house to house to warn residents.
Thus, the Ruhr River, which flows in North Rhine-Westphalia and is a right tributary of the Rhine, overflowed its banks in some places. In Duisburg, a dog drowned because of this.
For the inhabitants of the city of Hattingen, also located in North Rhine-Westphalia, heavy rain and strong winds caused many problems.
On Christmas Eve, a man and a woman were driving home. Due to the strong wind, a large tree fell right in front of his car and a few seconds later another fell, already behind his car. Fortunately the couple was not injured.
The Elbe River also overflowed in Hamburg, Bremen and Bremerhaven. The water level rose about one and a half meters above average.
The inhabitants of Lower Saxony are also experiencing great difficulties: in the Hanoverian district of Ricklingen a dam was blocked and the River Bike became a raging torrent. A preliminary level of emergency has been declared in several areas.
In the town of Lilienthal near Bremen, a dam broke, causing people to be evacuated. Residents of flooded streets had to move in with friends and family. A gymnasium was also prepared to temporarily house the victims.
In the town of Winsen, around 300 people had to be evacuated due to flooding from the Aller River. In some areas, the water level in the streets reached between 40 and 50 cm, causing electricity to be cut off for safety reasons.
Heavy rain also falls in eastern Germany. In Dresden, access to the Elbe dam was limited due to flooding.
The downpours that began on Christmas Day have not let up to this day. Residents in different regions continue to suffer from river overflows and flooding.
To protect Magdeburg, the capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, from flooding, the former Pretzin Dam on the Elbe was opened for the first time in 10 years on December 28. This event attracted the attention of the media, photographers and, first of all, hydraulic engineers.
It should be noted that a 135-meter-long dam separates the waters of the Elbe from the 21-kilometer-long canal. It was excavated specifically to collect up to a third of the river’s water and dump it downstream, bypassing Magdeburg.
The hydraulic structure was built in 1875. Since then it has been used more than 60 times, the last time in June 2013. It takes several hours to fully open the dam’s 324 protective gates (each of which weighs 100 kg) .
According to the forecasts of the German meteorological service, the rains will stop soon, but only for a short time. Further heavy rainfall is possible in the near future, especially in the west and northwest of the country.
Climate researcher Stefan Rahmstorf from the Potsdam Climate Research Institute highlights that global warming increases the likelihood of extreme weather events, including heavy rainfall.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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