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WEATHER

Storms wallop Germany and injure three

Continuing severe weather caused damage and injuries across Germany on Thursday evening with gale force winds and heavy rainfall, police said.

Published: 24 July 2009 08:17 CEST
Storms wallop Germany and injure three
Photo: DPA

Lightning strikes in Marl and Haltern in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia did more than €100,000 in property damage. Felled trees blocked streets and damaged cars in Aachen, Duisburg, and Bottrop as heavy rains flooded cellars. Hail in Aachen destroyed a supermarket roof.

Southern Bavaria, parts of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania also suffered severe storms, police reported.

Police registered more than 500 emergency calls in Bavaria. In Passau two people were injured an aluminium train station roof blew off, landing on two boats and six vehicles. Several other roofs blew away and trees fell on cars.

In Deggendorf the entire roof of a building materials factory blew off. In Straubing a mobile phone tower was damaged by lightning.

In the state of Baden-Württemberg trees were uprooted, streets flooded and trains were delayed as police received more than 200 emergency calls. Lightning strikes led to roof fires that did more than €90,000 damage in Aalen and Bad Mergentheim, police reported.

Police in the state of Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania reported flooded streets and cellars. According to rescue coordinators, the entire fire fighting force in the northwestern part of the state was out pumping water from cellars and replacing manhole covers on flooded streets.

A 25-year-old was injured near Neubrandenburg when a tree fell on his car.

In Brandenburg, the state that surrounds capital city Berlin, hail caused property damage in Prignitz, meanwhile police in Potsdam reported high winds and felled trees.

Meteorologists said Friday they expect the humid and tempestuous weather to improve by Saturday after the last storms roll through on Friday.

“That’s how it’s played out this year – every five to eight days there’s a weather change,” German Weather Service (DWD) spokesperson Ansgar Engel said.

Click here for The Local’s weather forecast.

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WEATHER

More rain forecast as storms hit western Germany

Severe storms and heavy rain affected parts of Germany on Thursday, creating disruptions. More rain is forecast on Friday but weather warnings have been lifted.

Published: 3 May 2024 09:53 CEST
More rain forecast as storms hit western Germany

Major storms hit western Germany on Thursday, causing travel disruption and flooding. 

In parts of Baden-Württemberg, streets were flooded and rivers swelled. Bisingen, southwest of Tübingen, was particularly hard hit, with cellars and streets plunged under water.

Police said there was also traffic disruption. In Baden-Württemberg’s state capital Stuttgart, severe storms and lightning caused issues and some roads were closed.

A lightning strike in the Sigmaringen area resulted in a broken signal box on the railway line. According to Deutsche Bahn, no train journeys were possible in the region in the early evening with several delays and cancellations.

Other states were also affected.

There were around 300 relief operations in the Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate, which was hit by the 2021 deadly flood disaster.

Police said no-on was injured, although basements and streets were flooded. The water levels of the Ahr were being closely monitored.

Emergency services in Bisingen on Thursday.

Emergency services in Bisingen on Thursday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Silas Stein

In Trier, too, streets were flooded after heavy rain and there were hailstorms. The Koblenz police headquarters reported fallen trees. Significant property damage due to full cellars and flooded streets was also reported in some areas. 

Heavy showers also fell in Hesse, accompanied by thunder storms. In Frankfurt, according to the fire department, the heavy rain caused water to enter the Bethanien Hospital and even reach the intensive care unit of the clinic.

“We were able to contain the damage relatively quickly and prevent it from spreading,” said fire department spokesman Thorben Schemmel, adding that no patients were affected.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the Eifel region was particularly affected, with reports of flooded streets after heavy rain and hailstorms.

North Rhine-Westphalia also saw storms late in the afternoon on Thursday. 

The German Weather Service (DWD) said it expected some heavy rain and hail in parts of the country on Friday – particularly in the west – and at the weekend but warnings of severe weather have been lifted. 

The DWD said there could still be one or two strong thunderstorms in the northeast on Friday. However, it will be a significantly quieter day compared to Thursday. Temperatures of up to 25C can be expected.

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