NAfter heavy rains and floods, the Vulkaneifel district of Rhineland-Palatinate was declared a disaster. “The situation is very serious. We have many flooded streets and towns that we can no longer reach,” District Mayor Julia Gieseking (SPD) said in Dawn on Wednesday night. Schools in the area should remain closed on Thursday.
Gisekin said: “I call on people to stay at home and protect themselves from large amounts of water.” The disaster enabled the Bundeswehr to support it. Vehicles are also needed to negotiate impassable roads. The focus of the action is to save people. At first, the emergency services could barely handle the flooded basement. “There are too many places where we have to set priorities.”
Many highways were flooded
Regulatory and Services Agency (ADD) Chairman Thomas Linnertz said he has rushed to Vulkaneifel for an overview. Due to heavy rains and floods, the situation in the neighbouring areas is also difficult. Harald Schmitz, fire and disaster control inspector in the Vulkaneifel district, said the amount of water is so large that “the entire river flows through the place”. In Hilsheim, some nursing homes have been cleaned up. “We assume that the situation will last longer, which is why we ask for support.” However, in addition to cuts in expenses, there have been no reports of serious injuries to the affected people so far.
At the same time, heavy rain has led to a state of emergency in many areas of Germany and has led to a large number of fire services. Although the situation in some places initially calmed down on Wednesday, North Rhine-Westphalia in particular was still severely affected, especially the state capital Düsseldorf and Hagen in the Ruhr region. Heavy rains also caused many highways to be flooded. The result is closures and traffic jams.
In Cologne at night, the A1 road between the Cologne-West and Cologne-Bocklenmünde intersections was blocked in both directions. According to the Rhineland Motorway Company, the cause was a flooded tunnel and the pump was unable to pump water from the tunnel fast enough. In the evening, the World Development Report reported flooding or storm damage to the lanes of highways 43, 44, 59, 61 and 553. Around 10 o’clock in the evening, there was a total of 60 kilometers of traffic jams across the country. In addition, the operation of many train routes had to be partially completely stopped.
Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Ruhr Speaking of “extremely difficult situations” in certain areas of the country. The CDU politician of the German News Agency said: “It is not yet possible to foresee further developments with certainty.” Due to the threat of flooding, the city of Düsseldorf asked residents of the Grafenberg district to leave their apartments on Wednesday. .Especially affected by the rise flood The city announced on Wednesday that there are approximately 350 buildings in Ostparkiedlung north of Düssel. A care center was set up for residents.
In heavy rain, the flat roof of a retail store in the Wilseren shopping center near Aachen collapsed. The city said an injured person was able to save himself. “It is estimated that the roof cannot withstand a lot of water.” Search and rescue dogs searched the area, but no one else was found in the building.
Due to the flooding, a nursing home with 76 residents in Hagen was evacuated. “The nursing home has been very severely affected and has become uninhabitable,” the city spokesperson said. Parents are asked not to send their children to nurseries and not to use vacation childcare services in elementary schools. A buried person was rescued from minor injuries. Several drivers were released from the car trapped in the water. There are at least 200 locations. Some parts of the village can no longer be reached. “People are desperate,” said a spokesperson at the Hagen police headquarters.
