The storm disaster in western Germany left the affected regions in chaos. Several bridges have been destroyed in Hagen (North Rhine-Westphalia).
Hagen – The North Rhine-Westphalian city of Hagen is one of the regions in western Germany that has been particularly hard hit by the catastrophic storm of the past few days. In Hagen, several bridges were completely destroyed by the flood. A police spokeswoman reported on Thursday that the Rehbecke Bridge over the River Volme had collapsed completely. The Volme is a tributary of the Ruhr. It flows a good 20 kilometers through the urban area of Hagen.
The central girder collapsed at another bridge over the river. In addition, a pedestrian bridge over the Volme was torn away by the floods. As in most of the other regions affected by the flood disaster, public and private transport in Hagen is still largely restricted before the weekend. The clean-up work is in full swing. The police in Hagen published a current list of blocked roads and bridges on Friday afternoon (July 16, 2021) as of 4 p.m. These badly hit and collapsed bridges in Hagen will therefore remain impassable for the time being.
Storm disaster in North Rhine-Westphalia: Several bridges in Hagen destroyed
- Bridge Lücköge ok, pedestrian bridge collapsed behind it
- Bridge in the Rehbecke collapsed
- Hasselstrasse bridge badly damaged
“Historic” catastrophe in NRW: More rain than ever before
According to the city’s environmental department, Hagen has been caught by a 120-year flood in the past few days. This means that floods of this magnitude occur statistically only once every 120 years. According to the city, all rivers are currently back in their river beds. With the Ruhr, Volme, Lenne and Ennepe, four large rivers run through the urban area of Hagen. According to the mayor of Hagen Erik O. Schulz, the extraordinary situation came about through a combination of two events. On the one hand, the water levels in two of the four rivers in Hagen rose extremely quickly and, on the other hand, there was a heavy rain of 200 liters per square meter that the city had never experienced before.
The rescue and clean-up work in the affected areas continues to run at full speed – also with the support of rescuers from other federal states and the Bundeswehr. According to the Federal Ministry of Defense, more than 850 soldiers are now on duty during the storms – “and the trend is rising”. Tanks help, among other things, to clear roads in Hagen.
Prime Minister Laschet visits Hagen: disaster of “historic proportions”
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) visited the city of Hagen, which was particularly badly hit by storms, on Thursday morning (July 15, 2021) to get an idea of the situation on site with Mayor Schulz in the city’s crisis management team. In a press conference on Friday, Laschet spoke of a “disaster of historic proportions”. Laschet also promised quick help to the people and regions affected. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia has already prepared a multi-stage aid program for the victims of the storm disaster. “We will need a great financial effort,” said Laschet. The funds available up to now for emergency aid in the event of heavy rain events would “by far not be sufficient”. The federal government has already announced support. (iwe)
