2023-12-22 07:46:56
Storm “Zoltan” is sweeping through northern Germany with strong gusts and showers – and is causing some disruption just before Christmas. The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) predicted a severe storm surge for the German North Sea coast and Hamburg on Friday morning. The East Frisian coast and the Weser area must also expect severe storm surges. According to the German Weather Service, hurricane-like gusts of more than 100 kilometers per hour are possible on Friday evening. Deutsche Bahn expects further restrictions on passenger transport.
Rail traffic was hit hard on Thursday. There were numerous cancellations and delays in regional and long-distance transport due to the storm damage. “In some cases, damage can only be finally assessed in daylight,” said a railway spokesman on Thursday evening. The railway lines in the north are particularly affected.
Railway failures on Friday
According to initial information, long-distance trains between Hamburg/Hannover, Kassel and Frankfurt/Stuttgart/Basel as well as Würzburg and Munich will be canceled on Friday. There are delays and isolated cancellations between Berlin/Leipzig/Erfurt and Frankfurt. ICE and IC trains between Cologne and Kassel will also be canceled for the time being. According to information from Friday, no ICE and IC trains stop in Marienhafe, Norden, Norddeich and Norddeich Mole. The EC train routes in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein are also affected.
There were also weather-related delays and cancellations in regional transport on Thursday, which continued into Friday night. Near Hamburg, traffic was stopped on some routes.
Firefighters remove fallen trees from the road between Berg and Issigau in Bavaria. : Image: dpa
Flood warning for Lower Saxony and Hamburg
The hurricane-like gusts not only caused trees to fall onto tracks, but also onto roads. Christmas markets remained closed or closed earlier and ferries were canceled – such as the trips between Rostock and Gedser in Denmark. In addition, the Fehmarnsund Bridge in Schleswig-Holstein had to be completely closed, according to police.
The Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) issued a flood warning for the entire state. In many places the first rivers would overflow their banks and flood forestry and agricultural areas.
While the all-clear was given for a severe storm surge overnight, BSH predicted a severe storm surge on Friday for the German North Sea coast and Hamburg. In Hamburg’s Elbe area, the police warned of water levels of around 3 meters above mean high water this morning. According to police, the affected area should be avoided. According to the information, the flood peak is expected at around 11 a.m. at the St. Pauli gauge with a height of up to 3.05 meters above the mean flood level
The experts from the BSH also predicted severe storm surges on Friday for the East Frisian coast and the Weser area. Flood waters there are expected to be 2.5 meters to 3 meters above average in the morning and midday. On the North Frisian coast, water levels of 2 meters to 2.5 meters above mean high water are expected. A severe weather warning has been issued by the German Weather Service (DWD) for the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein.
Police report 76 emergency calls in the Bonn city area
The police in Bonn received 76 emergency calls due to the storm. There were no injuries in any of the cases, a police spokesman said on Friday morning. These were primarily operations involving fallen trees and damaged cars, to which the fire brigade was deployed between Thursday afternoon and shortly before midnight. In two cases, houses were also damaged.
As the fire department announced, in one case, parts of the roof and facade of a house fell onto the street and damaged several cars, among other things. In the Pennenfeld district, a tree around 20 meters high fell on several terraced houses and damaged the roof and facade.
The fire department reported around 60 operations throughout the city on Thursday evening. Around 100 firefighters were on duty. They removed fallen trees, fallen branches and secured loose parts of roofs, house facades and scaffolding, according to the statement. The local focus of the operations was in the districts of Mehlem, Rüngsdorf and Bad Godesberg.
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