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WEATHER

Two die as heavy rain and floods hits west

UPDATE: A man drowned in his cellar on Monday night as heavy rain battered parts of north-western Germany. A second man died when he tried to drive through a flooded street. The emergency services were in places overwhelmed by hundreds of calls. There are further weather warnings in place for Tuesday.

Published: 29 July 2014 09:10 CEST
Two die as heavy rain and floods hits west
Münster was one of the areas worst hit by Monday night's heavy rain. Photo: DPA

The driver in Munster is believed to have died when his car came off a flooded road. It is thought he was swept away by the water.

A 76-year-old also died in his flooded cellar in Munster, North Rhine-Westphalia, overnight on Monday as flood water poured into cellars all over the region. 

In subways and underpasses the water was over half a metre deep.

A woman suffered life-threatening injures in central Munster and had to be freed from her vehicle by emergency services after a falling tree struck her car.

In Greven, a town of 36,000 inhabitants, the town centre was closed to traffic after 60 litres of rain per metre squared fell within six hours, weather service DWD estimated.

Overwhelmed fire services registered more than 1,000 emergency calls from citizens, mostly due to flooded cellars. Eight hundred emergency workers worked through the night, with many places having to call in back up from unaffected areas.

 

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Post by WetterOnline.

Meanwhile, traffic chaos and long queues ensued after main roads including the A40 in Essen were flooded or closed due to fallen trees.

Parts of Baden-Württemberg and the industrial Ruhrgebiet were also affected by the storms, with cellars flooded. The DWD issued further weather warnings for Tuesday for central Germany.

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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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