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Large parts of Germany were literally under water during the Christmas holidays; the storm made it rain almost non-stop. Floods were the result.
The northwestern German state of Lower Saxony was also affected. In a statement, the Prime Minister even spoke of a record flood. “We have never experienced a flood of this magnitude here. Experts have long warned that increasingly common extreme weather events are linked to climate change,” Weil said in a statement on Thursday.
More than 100,000 emergency services are fighting the floods
The Prime Minister emphasized that in the future we must further increase our commitment to preventing floods and urgently further reduce CO2 emissions.
More than 100,000 people are working to combat flooding in Germany’s second-largest state, Weil said. “The images look similar and yet they are frightening in many places: enormous bodies of water where otherwise relatively small rivers meander through the landscape, dikes reinforced with sandbags, continuously running pumps.”
The Prime Minister condemned the disaster tourism observed in some places. “My urgent appeal to anyone who is curious: leave it alone, go for a walk somewhere else or stay home.”
These places are also affected by floods
In addition to Lower Saxony, parts of Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt were also affected by flooding. Many emergency services from the fire brigade and other organizations such as the Technical Emergency Service (THW) were deployed to secure dikes and pump out water.
Emergency services have secured a dike on the Lippe near Hamm in North Rhine-Westphalia with thousands of sandbags. Authorities were also alert along the Elbe, Saale and Elster in the states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. According to the state’s own dam management, a floodplain forest near Leipzig was deliberately flooded to provide emergency relief.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, authorities in Saxony-Anhalt have opened the Pretziener weir for the first time since the flood of the century in 2013 to relieve Magdeburg and Schönebeck from the flooding of the Elbe. The weir directs the water through a canal past the cities. Elsewhere, the situation has eased as the water level in Halle an der Saale drops. (dzc/SDA/AFP)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
