The powerful hurricane Ilenia, which swept over the northern and western regions of Germany on the night of Thursday, February 17, paralyzed the movement of railway transport in the country. In seven federal states – Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin and Brandenburg, long-distance trains have been suspended.
The hurricane also greatly affected regional rail traffic. Flights are canceled or delayed almost everywhere. To the south of Hamburg, train traffic has been completely stopped. Due to the ongoing bad weather, the Deutsche Bahn railway concern does not exclude that interruptions will continue in the coming days.
Schools closed in many regions
In Germany’s most populous federal state, North Rhine-Westphalia, all schools have been closed as a precaution. The land government urged parents not to send their children to kindergartens if possible. The state of Bremen has transferred schools to distance learning, schools are also closed in some areas of Lower Saxony. In a number of other Länder, authorities have allowed parents to decide for themselves whether to send their children to school.
The main blow of the hurricane fell on the northern part of the lands of Hesse, Saxony and the southern part of Brandenburg. In some areas of Germany there were floods. Powerful gusts of wind felled trees, tore off road shields and signs, but no major damage has yet been reported. In the region of the 1141-meter mountain Brocken, located in the forest region of Harz in the east of Germany, the wind speed reached 159 km/h.
The German meteorological service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) said that the Ilenia will weaken from the middle of the day on February 17, but the respite is likely to be short. Already at noon on February 18, hurricane cyclone Zeynep from the British Isles can reach Germany, bringing with it strong gusts of wind and heavy rains.
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