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STORM

Storms cause death, floods and flight delays

A storm ripped through North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Saxony on Thursday night causing flight delays, floods and at least one death.

Published: 11 July 2014 10:17 CEST
Storms cause death, floods and flight delays
Floods in Mühlau, Saxony. Photo: DPA

In North Rhine-Westphalia a man in Geldern near Düsseldorf died when a falling branch hit his vehicle.

Frankfurt Airport was forced to close for an hour on Thursday evening. Over 2,000 passengers were accommodated in hotels after 55 take-offs and 36 landings were cancelled. Dozens of flights were delayed until after 11.00pm. Flight schedules have since returned to normal.

The storm pounded the central state of Hesse where police reported a slew of accidents on main roads. Traffic slowed to a halt on Autobahn 66 near Wiesbaden. A fire truck collided with a car while responding to a call and the vehicle's driver had to be taken to the hospital. No firefighters were injured.

Heavy rains have resulted in floods throughout the region. A subway station in Cologne was completely filled with water, and in north-west Thuringia homes were flooded. In Gießen, a bank alarm was set off by heavy flooding.

In Lower Saxony, police and fire fighters responded to over 150 calls between the hours of 7pm and 11pm on Thursday. A regional train in Ostercappeln carrying 150 passengers was halted due to the storm, and was eventually towed by a diesel train. In Bad Rothenfeld a tornado uprooted several trees.

In Saxony, police also said dozens of streets were flooded causing road accidents. 

On Friday morning the German Weather Service (DWD) issued a weather alert through to Saturday morning.

Severe thunderstorms are expected to develop throughout Friday in the west, south-west and centre of the country and will be characterized by heavy rains, strong gusts of wind and hailstones of up to two centimetres in diameter.

SEE ALSO: Storms cause €650 million of damage

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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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