Storm over Germany: At least 19 dead in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate – numerous missing people

Deep “Bernd” brings storms with heavy rain in numerous regions of Germany. Houses collapse, people die. Now the weather situation should relax.

+++ 11.15 a.m .: According to the German Weather Service (DWD), the peak of the extreme rainfall in parts of Germany has been exceeded. The DWD meteorologist Marco Manitta expected “a relaxation of the weather” on Thursday. Although there could still be “punctual heavy rain”, this was no longer as widespread as last night, said Manitta of the German press agency. “The potential for severe weather drops significantly.”

Storm over Germany: At least 19 dead in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate – numerous missing people

+++ 10.55 a.m .: The severe storms in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia have killed at least 19 people. In the particularly affected town of Schuld in the Ahrweiler district in the Eifel, where houses collapsed, at least four people died, as the police in Koblenz said in the morning. The Euskirchen district in North Rhine-Westphalia reports eight deaths.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, two firefighters were killed in action in Altena and Werdohl. In Cologne, firefighters discovered a dead woman and a dead man in full cellars. In Solingen and in the Unna district, two men died in flooded cellars. A dead woman was discovered on a street in Rheinbach near Bonn. According to the police, a connection with the storms is likely.

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Storm over Germany: At least 19 dead in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate – numerous missing people

+++ 10.45 a.m.: In Cologne (North Rhine-Westphalia) two people were discovered dead in their cellars that were filled with water. The fire brigade found the dead woman and the dead man on missions late Wednesday evening, the police and public prosecutor announced on Thursday. “In both cases the police have started investigations into the exact cause of death,” said the investigators. The body of the 72-year-old woman was found shortly after 9:30 p.m., that of the 54-year-old resident of a family house was found shortly before midnight.

In Rheinbach near Bonn, a dead woman was discovered on a street early Thursday morning. A connection with the storm, which also affected Rheinbach with flooded streets, is likely, said the Bonn police. The dead person has not yet been able to be identified. Further information was not initially given.

Meanwhile, in the Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm, several people have been trapped in their homes by the water, including in Waxweiler. That said the district spokesman on Thursday in Bitburg. People had to be rescued – but there have not yet been any reports of dead, injured or missing. The district spokesman also reported on at least one collapsed house.

+++ 10.05 a.m.: The storms and floods in the Eifel have led to a large-scale power outage. As a spokeswoman for the network operator Westnetz said, the districts of Ahrweiler, Vulkaneifel, Mayen-Koblenz, Bitburg-Prüm and Trier-Saarburg are particularly affected in Rhineland-Palatinate. Numerous local network stations were under water there and should have been switched off, as Westnetz announced in Saffig. In the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich, isolated villages are without electricity.

Storm over Germany: At least nine dead in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate – numerous missing people

+++ 9.45 a.m.: A 77-year-old man from Kamen died in the floods in North Rhine-Westphalia. The man died in the submerged basement of his house, the police said on Thursday. There were no indications of third-party negligence. The criminal police are investigating the circumstances of death.

Meanwhile, the number of missing people in the Eifel rises to 70. Around 50 people are said to still be on the roofs of houses and have to be rescued.

Because of the flood, all access roads to the municipality of Kordel in the district of Trier-Saarburg are cut off. The place with around 2000 inhabitants is currently not accessible, said a district spokesman on Thursday. One tries now with the help of the Bundeswehr with watercraft to reach the residents. There have been no reports of dead and missing persons so far. There are similar rescue operations on the Sauer River, a few kilometers away.

+++ 9.30 a.m.: At least nine people died in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. At least four people died in the particularly affected town of Schuld in the Ahrweiler district in the Eifel, as the police in Koblenz said on Thursday morning. In North Rhine-Westphalia, two firefighters were killed in action in Altena and Werdohl. In Solingen and the Unna district, two men died in flooded cellars, and another death was reported from Rheinbach.

Storm over Germany: dead and missing – houses in the Eifel collapse

+++ 08.28 a.m.: As the Wuppertal police report, an 82-year-old man died in Solingen after falling in the flooded basement of his house. In the fall, his head got under water. According to the city of Solingen, the man was rescued from a cellar shaft and resuscitated. He died after being transported to the hospital.

+++ 7.45 a.m.: As the police are now reporting, four people die from the storm in the Rhineland-Palatinate district of Ahrweiler. With the two dead firefighters, the number of victims increases to six.

+++ 7.10 a.m.: After heavy rainfall, six houses collapsed in the Eifel on Thursday night. Several other houses in the community of Schuld in the Ahrweiler district are in danger of collapsing, said a police spokesman for the AFP news agency. According to a report by the SWR, around 30 people are missing. The police spokesman was initially unable to confirm this information. The situation is confusing.

The disaster was declared in the Ahrweiler district. According to the police, several places were cut off from the outside world due to flooding. People have fled to the roofs of their houses and waited there for the rescue workers.

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Storm over Germany: weather should calm down

+++ 06:30 a.m.: The extreme continuous rain in many parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and in Rhineland-Palatinate as well as in Saarland is expected to subside, according to the forecast of the German Weather Service (DWD) over the course of Thursday. In many places, the clean-up work should now begin.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) wants to visit the Ruhr area city of Hagen, which is particularly affected by flooding, on Thursday (July 15, 2021). In Rhineland-Palatinate, schools are to remain closed in the Vulkaneifel district and in the Kordel community in the Trier-Saarburg district. More than 1,000 emergency services were deployed in storms on Thursday night in the Trier-Saarburg district.

Storm over Germany: dam near Wuppertal overflows – rescue workers die

First report July 15, 2021, 4:10 am: Frankfurt am Main – The low “Bernd” caused chaos during the night with heavy rain and floods, especially in western Germany. Especially in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the state capital Düsseldorf, Wuppertal and Hagen in the Ruhr area, the low and heavy rain caused sometimes chaotic conditions.

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In Rhineland-Palatinate, too, there is land under control in many places. The district administration in Daun declared the disaster. Among other things, the schools in the Vulkaneifel district will remain closed this Thursday. Meanwhile, the floods on the Rhine, Ahr and Moselle continue to rise.

“The situation is very serious, we have many flooded streets and towns that can no longer be reached,” said the district administrator of the Vulkaneifel district, Julia Gieseking (SPD), on Wednesday evening (14.07.2021). “I appeal to the population that everyone stay at home and protect themselves from the masses of water.”

Power outages in the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich

In the event of a disaster, the Bundeswehr can be supported. According to the district administrator, vehicles are also required to pass roads that are no longer passable. The focus of the operations is on rescuing people. At first, the emergency services could hardly take care of flooded basements. “There are so many locations that we have to set priorities.” The President of the Supervisory and Service Authority (ADD), Thomas Linnertz, also hurried to the Vulkaneifel to get an overview.

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A photographer from the German Press Agency from the neighboring Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm reported on numerous blocked roads. In Prüm, the fire brigade has been in constant use since the morning, as a community spokesman said. The water levels of the streams have risen sharply, and numerous cellars have filled up. The fire brigade distributed around 5,000 sandbags in the community. In the Bernkastel-Wittlich district, warnings were issued against “long-lasting, district-wide power failures”.

Weather service continues to expect heavy rains

Further west, the Trier-Saarburg district called the second highest alert level on Wednesday evening. In this fourth of five alert levels, the district administration takes over the coordination of the operations in the seven municipalities. The municipalities of Trier-Land, Schweich and Konz were particularly affected by floods. “The weather is coming down from the Eifel in the direction of Trier,” said a spokeswoman for the district administration.

According to the weather service, heavy rains are still to be expected, the district administration in Trier announced. The water levels of water bodies are rapidly rising rapidly. Homeowners have been urged to take security measures on their buildings, such as turning off electrical appliances in areas at risk of flooding.

The authorities in the Ahrweiler district also reported “extreme heavy rain”. There, the Koblenz fire brigade, together with the Lahnstein technical aid organization and the Mainz fire brigade, helped to fill 800 sandbags per hour. These were brought to the Ahrweiler district in six trucks. “The danger of flooding on the Ahr and its small and medium-sized tributaries is currently very high,” said the district administration. Flash floods and floods are to be expected. At the “Stahlhütte” campsite in Dorsel (Ahrweiler district) and other facilities along the Ahr, people had to be rescued from the roofs of their caravans.

The flood reporting service announced that the water level of the Moselle at the Trier gauge will continue to rise sharply. On Thursday, an increase in the range of nine meters is not ruled out. On Wednesday evening, the level of six meters was initially exceeded. On the Rhine, the water level of seven meters was exceeded in Speyer and five meters in Mainz. Further rising water levels were expected for the entire Upper and Middle Rhine.

Deep “Bernd”: Two firefighters die

North Rhine-Westphalia is also particularly affected by the storm. Heavy rain caused floods and floods in many parts of the country – two firefighters died during operations in the Märkischer Kreis. In Altena in the Sauerland, a 46-year-old firefighter was killed while rescuing a man after the heavy rain. A spokesman for the police in the Märkischer Kreis confirmed this on Wednesday. Just two hours later, a 52-year-old firefighter collapsed while working in the area of the Werdohl-Elverlingsen power plant.

According to the police in the Märkisches Kreis, the 46-year-old fell into the water after a successful rescue while getting into the fire engine and drifted off. A short time later they could only rescue him dead. He drowned.

The 52-year-old firefighter died on Wednesday evening despite resuscitation and relief measures, the police said. It had previously collapsed as part of a storm-related mission in the area of the power plant. The police assume a health emergency.

Storm in North Rhine-Westphalia: Dam in Wuppertal overflows

The situation is still particularly tense in Hagen and Wuppertal, where a dam overflowed. Several villages were evacuated near the Steinbach dam in Euskirchen.

The crisis team in Hagen is expecting “a 25-year flood,” the city announced. Those who live in the immediate vicinity of rivers are encouraged to go to higher areas. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) announced a visit to Hagen for Thursday to get an idea of the situation there. (skr / ktho with agencies)

Headline list image: © Gianni Gattus / dpa