The extent of the weather with heavy rain in Germany is great. Flooded cities claim numerous deaths – and the next storms are already on the horizon.
Kassel – After the heavy storm series with heavy rains, many districts and municipalities in Germany are still struggling with the consequences of the floods. The continuous rain has caused severe damage, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg.
Flood-like meter-high water masses devastated entire cities and villages within a few hours, and some houses collapsed. More than 150 people in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate were killed by the floods * – many are currently still missing.
Heavy storms: flood disaster in Germany – more than 150 dead
In Rhineland-Palatinate, the district of Ahrweiler (Rhineland-Palatinate) is particularly hard hit. The flood disaster left a field of devastation there. The power and cellular networks have been badly damaged and are still failing in some towns. 110 people fell victim to the storm there – 670 people were injured, according to the police. However, the number of deaths and injuries could continue to increase.
In Erftstadt (North Rhine-Westphalia), only a few kilometers away from Cologne, the storm series * caused immense damage with continuous rain. A federal road was completely flooded within a few minutes and paralyzed traffic. Numerous houses collapsed due to the strong floods. Fire brigades, the technical relief organization and soldiers from the Bundeswehr are on site. In addition, help teams from North Hesse supported the emergency services in the North Rhine-Westphalian crisis areas.
Weather: Torrential rain in Germany – severe weather warning for Upper Bavaria
There is currently an acute storm warning from the German Weather Service (DWD) for the south of Bavaria. Especially in the Berchtesgadener Land there was torrential rain on Saturday evening (July 17th, 2021), which led to floods and landslides. The district then declared a disaster. Parts of northern Hesse were also not spared from the storm *: In the Waldeck-Frankenberg district, permanent rainfall ensured flooded streets and meadows, and numerous cellars were full.
An overview of the districts affected by floods in Germany:
- North Rhine-Westphalia: Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Euskirchen, Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, Bergisches Land, Düren
- Rhineland-Palatinate: Ahrweiler, Bitburg-Prüm, Vulkaneifel, Trier-Saarburg
- Baden-Württemberg: Loerrach, Ravensburg, Wangen im Allgäu, Belgium
- Bavaria: Berchtesgadener Land
Weather in Germany: New storms are approaching – but experts give the all-clear
According to weather expert Dominik Jung from wetter.net, the weather should initially remain mostly nice and dry for the next few days. “That means first of all further relaxation in the regions affected by the floods in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate,” said the meteorologist. In the second half of the week, warm air masses with temperatures above 30 degrees will flow into Germany.
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But new summer thunderstorms are already looming: the air masses should become increasingly humid towards the weekend and cause the first precipitation. The storm potential then increases again significantly. The west should also be affected by new showers and thunderstorms. “But according to the current status, there will be nothing nationwide and nothing comparable to what we had to experience there in the past few days,” assures Jung. (Alina Schröder) * hna.de, wlz-online.de and fr.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA.
List of rubric lists: © David Young / dpa
