Storms cause chaos in many regions of Germany

Once again, heavy storms and heavy rain caused chaos in parts of Germany. Especially in the south and west of the country, people had to cope with flooded cellars and flooded streets. On Wednesday morning, the weather situation calmed down in many places, but in the course of the day, according to estimates of the German Weather Service (DWD), extreme storms could threaten again in the east and northeast.

In Frankfurt alone, more than 600 operations were reported within two hours on Tuesday evening, the fire department announced late Tuesday evening. The heavy rains with precipitation of up to 45 liters / sq. m. in a very short time would have led to flooded basements and garages, flooded underpasses and passages. As a result, manhole covers were pushed up in many places. Traffic on trains and buses came to a temporary standstill in some parts of the city.

In Bavaria, too, severe storms affected rail traffic. In Landshut, water stood in the streets in parts of the city. Numerous trees fell and cellars filled up. The Landshut Fire Department received more than 600 emergency calls, as a spokesman for the Integrated Control Center said on Tuesday evening.At kickoff of the European Championship soccer match between Germany and England, dense clouds with heavy rain, lightning and thunder had moved over the city. Torrents formed on the streets, cars were washed away, water gushed out of manhole covers that the sewage system could no longer absorb. The water damaged power boxes and oil tanks, according to Mirko Olzem of the Integrated Control Center. "This was a storm that only happens every five to ten years," he added.

In Bochum, according to the fire department, it rained so hard from Tuesday evening that in some cellars the water was up to the ceiling. In Krefeld, the heavy rain also led to basements, streets and underground garages being flooded, according to the fire department on Wednesday morning. There, one person had also suffered a broken bone due to a fall caused by the masses of water. By 2:00 a.m. that night, more than 2,000 calls had already been received at the Krefeld Fire Department's control center, including more than 800 emergency calls. Several callers reported that they had gotten stuck with their vehicles in flooded underpasses, but also on the open road in the masses of water and could no longer free themselves from the vehicles under their own power.

On Wednesday morning, the DWD initially lifted all warnings for severe thunderstorms. "The thunderstorm situation has calmed down for the time being," a statement said. "In the course of the day, however, a revival of heavy rain and thunderstorm activity is to be expected again in the east and northeast of Germany." Locally limited heavy rain and extreme thunderstorms could occur again.

Photo by Florian Olivo