DThe flood situation in western Germany is getting worse. In the Ahrweiler district, 50 kilometers south of Bonn, 4 people were killed by the storm. FAZ police confirmed this. The police could not provide the exact situation upon request. According to the police, they were found in multiple locations. On Thursday night, six houses collapsed due to flooding and continuous rainfall. More than 25 threats collapse.
A police spokesperson said that the situation in the area is still confusing. Many villages are affected. According to the police, dozens of people are missing. A FAZ police spokesperson said the number is increasing as acquaintances and friends ask the authorities for help. The police could not provide any information about the actual number of missing persons. In Altenahr in the Ahrweiler district, residents fled to their roofs. From there, they were rescued by rescuers. In Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, most of the city center was flooded. A disaster has been declared in the Ahrweiler region.
Heavy rain caused floods, floods and power outages in many areas of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. In many areas, streets were flooded, cellars overflowed, and rail and road traffic was disrupted. Belgium was also affected by floods. According to the forecast of the German Meteorological Service (DWD), the extreme continuous rainfall will subside on Thursday night. But in many places, clean-up work should begin now. The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Amin Raschelt (CDU), hopes to visit Hagen, a city in the Ruhr region this Thursday, which is particularly affected by the floods. In Rhineland-Palatinate, schools in the Kordel communities in the Vulkaneifel and Trier-Saarburg districts remain closed.
The deep “Bernde” determines that the weather in Germany is warm and humid. According to DWD, the weather will remain changeable in the next few days, with showers and thunderstorms, and sometimes heavy rain.
In Altena, Sauerland, after heavy rain, a 46-year-old firefighter was killed while rescuing a man. He was swept away by a lot of water and drowned. Just two hours later, a 52-year-old firefighter collapsed while working in the Werdohl-Elverlingsen power plant area. Police said he died on Wednesday night despite recovery and rescue measures. The police assumed a health emergency. In Altena, like many other places, the cellars and streets are flooded. The Ryan River overflowing its banks further aggravated the situation there. The water flows into the city center. The police said in the afternoon that Altena was “almost impossible to reach.” Two other firefighters were killed in Märkisches Kreis.
People have to run away from home
In Hückeswagen in Oberbergisches Kreis, the Bevertalsperre river flooded due to heavy rain. A spokesperson for the control center said on Thursday morning that the current flow is out of control at the edge of the dam. More than 1,000 people had to leave their homes.
After the heavy rain, the authorities of Bergisches Land feared that the Wupper dam near Radvormwald would overflow uncontrollably. According to a spokesperson for the Oberbergischer Kreis control center, the fire brigade can now discharge water in a controlled manner. For security reasons, the residents of Wupper in Radvormwald were asked to leave their apartment late at night, including using a loudspeaker for notification. A primary school in Radevormwald has set up a care center for the affected.
The same is true in Wuppertal, where heavy rain caused the water level of the Wupper River to rise and the streets were flooded. As a police spokesperson announced on Thursday morning, some roads along the axis of the valley along the Wupper River have been closed. In the cities of Euskirchen and Rheinbach on the left bank of the Rhine, residents of parts of the city were asked to leave their homes. The Rhein-Sieg district announced that there was a dangerous situation in the vicinity of Steinbachtalsperre. The police said that highway 61 between Briesheim and Meckenheim was blocked on Thursday because the dam of the dam might rupture due to the storm. As the highway was flooded, the A61 had previously been closed. The Technical Relief Organization (THW) and police observe the dam on site. Traffic will divert to A565.
