Flooding and mega hail: disastrous conditions after mega thunderstorms in Germany

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Heavy storms broke out in Germany on Thursday evening. The debt was low «Lambert». It brought thunder, heavy rain, hail and gale-force winds. Large parts of the country were affected.

According to the German weather service (DWD), most of the rain fell in North Rhine-Westphalia. At measuring station Sassendorf in the Soest district, 102 liters per square meter fell within 24 hours. In Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund it flowed around 95 liters per square meter.

Kassel hit by heavy hail

But there was also an absolute emergency in Kassel. So-called “supercells” formed there, as the “Süddeutsche” reports. There was heavy hail, wrecking cars and torrential rain that flooded streets and basements. Strong gusts of wind also ripped trees from their roots in many places. A police spokesman told the newspaper: “The fire brigade cannot keep up with the work.”

Something similar happened in Frankfurt. A spokesman for the city’s fire department told the newspaper: “The people have been extremely lucky,” as the trees that were cut down would have crushed entire cars. The fire service was also fully deployed here.

Absolute state of emergency also in Braunschweig

But that is not everything. An atmosphere of doom prevailed in Braunschweig as well. Photos and videos show how heavy rain showers literally flood the city center. The fire brigade was also working here on a large scale all night. In press releases, she said via Instagram: “At 10 p.m., the Braunschweig fire brigade registered 530 deployment locations in the city area. At 7:45 p.m., about 1,000 storm-related emergency calls had already been received at the Braunschweig fire brigade headquarters.

The control room was fully occupied, callers sometimes even had to wait until their call could be answered. Citizens have been informed to call only in emergencies. A firefighter on duty at the control center tells Blick, “In my 35 years of professional experience, I’ve never experienced anything like this. We had about four times more calls than usual.”

Even today, emergency services work tirelessly throughout the country. They pump out cellars and clear trees. Its use is likely to continue throughout the day in parts of Germany. The storm is now moving east. The DWD says that some regions still have to be prepared for heavy rainfall on Friday.

Source: Blick