Floods in Germany

[clara]

You may have seen on tv that the western part of Germany is very much affected by severe floods - yes, it's horrible! The state where I am living (Nordrhein-Westfalen, abbr. NRW) and the state south of us (Rheinland-Pfalz) are partly looking as if we had had a war: Destroyed houses, smashed cars, bridges, broken trees, all kind of debris everywhere, lots of stinking, dirty water and the worst: 45 people have already lost their life and several douzens are still missing. Several (former) cute and romantic villages can only be reached by helicopter to rescue people from the roof of their houses. I'm instensively hoping that the rain will stop this night - we have a barrage quite near which is about to crack, you can already see the damage. If it happens, the town close to us will be under water (not our small town) and helpers have already started to evacuate the hospital; it's already to 50cm under water.

Fortunately my own house is on top of a hill and there is no damage so far, but I haven't been in the garden to have a look at the tomatoes, I don't want to see the disaster... At least the tomatoes have had enough water... more than enough!!!

My daughter is in northern Italy after a week in France (school holidays in NRW). Her house quite close to mine has some minor damage, such as a wet wall in the basement and a bit of water in another room in the basement, but I'm afraid she and her family will have problems to return because of all the damaged bridges, roads etc. and the masses of water on their way north.

If anybody is still denying the climate change: I can only curse him/her and wish him/her to go through such a situation as this! Due to the warmer Arctic, the jet stream has changed and causes one disaster after the other, be it droughts or floods.

Update: Now 58 dead people and up to 1300 missing

[worth1]

[mention]clara[/mention]
Stay safe my friend.
Drove home in a down pour yesterday in the middle of July
Raining every week.
Actually welcome where I live.
But suspect we will have yet another really cold winter and as far as I know have done nothing to fix our electrical grid as far as winterizing.
Probably going to order snow chains soon.
NOT a climate change denier.
So please don't curse me.

[Seven Bends]

The photos and videos of the flooding are scary and heartbreaking. Between this and the recent Czech tornado and the crazy temperatures you've been getting the last few years, it seems like Europe is really being hit hard. I hope the rains end soon and no more lives are lost. Best wishes and stay safe!

[PlainJane]

So sorry [mention]clara[/mention]. If the floods and heatwaves don’t convince people I don’t know what will.

[Amateurinawe]

[mention]clara[/mention] I have just caught up with the news in Germany and things look devastating. Hope you and yours all stay safe and help comes soon.

[bower]

OMG Clara! Wishing you all stay safe.

[Barb_FL]

I am so sorry; this is so devastating. Stay safe.

[Growing Coastal]

Hi Clara. So sorry to read of these troubles! Hope it goes back to normal soon.
We too are experiencing unprecedented weather but with unusual heat and drought.
So many abnormal events point to an uncertain future for many on the planet.
Hang on tight and keep dry!

[pepperhead212]

I saw that on the news, [mention]clara[/mention]! I'm glad you are on a hill, and able to stay safe. Seems like things like this are happening all over! About 35 miles N of me a storm went through early this week, where it stalled, and resulted in 10" of rain in a short period, with flooding all over. As bad as the heat is hear, I always remind myself how much worse it is in so many places.

[Gardadore]

Glad you checked in with Tomato Junction to share your situation. Good to hear you are on a hill. We have a number of friends in Germany and called all of them this morning. All are surviving the flooding but the wife in the one family passed away yesterday from cancer. That came as a shock as we didn’t know she had it! With that on their plate it is a relief to hear they have escaped the flooding although they are close to it! My thoughts are with all of our European members who may be having problems with the flooding!

[clara]

Sad update: 106 people are dead, several hundreds still missing

100,000 people in the region south of me are still without power, so it MAY be that some of them (of the missing people) don't have the opportunity to use a telefon or their cellphone to tell their family/friends where they actually are.

I've spent hours to watch tv today because I know this region rather well. It's no longer the region I've visisted so many times when I still lived in Aachen at the Dutch/Belgian/German border. Both countries have to mourn dead people, too, because they are hit by the same disaster.

The barrage I talked about yesterday, still exists - but the crackings are scaring! And nobody can do anything to stabilize the barrage because it is much too dangerous. At least everybody who would be hit by the water if the barrage cracks, are evacuated! Fire fighter have installed huge houses and try to lead some water out of the barrage, but it's only "a drop in the bucket".

But there are good news also: No more rain today! The rain is coming down south of the affected area, sigh... That means that rivers like the Rhine will have floods sooner or later and of course many other rivers also. In Cologne/Köln (I live about 15 km from it) there is a lovely promenade at the river - it's already under water. After terrible floods some years ago, when Cologne downtown was under water, many things were done to safe the city from new floods, but they only work to a height of 10 m of the river... There is not much water missing...

Added: My son has found out by chance that we have got 160 liters per sqm - within ONE day. 160 l = 42 gallones

[MissS]

I feel your pain and your frustration. Floods are a horrible affair to live through, fear, lives lost and possessions gone. I am glad to hear that they are making some evacuation efforts to keep people safe so that no other life is lost. I feel better knowing that you and yours are safe and that the rain has ended at least for today. It is truly a disaster there.

[PhilaGardener]

Yes, devastating images on the news. Best wishes to everyone affected by this terrible flooding!

[asmx92]

I live near ULM in Baden Württemberg. With me all is ok!
Thanks Clara.

[clara]

The death toll is rising: 146 people are dead and actually 3500 people are missing. I can only hope that the number is that high because the phone lines are not working! Our Belgian and Dutch neighbors are also badly hit with a rising amount of victims.

Last night, I woke up because of the noise of several helicopters and wondered why there were so many in the air at night. Very unusual in our region! This morning I heard that a dam (not very far from here) has broken at night and that evacuations had to start immediately, therefore perhaps the helicopters.

South-west of us, there is a small mountain, called Eifel, not very high, where in former times mines were exploited, but that's already a long time ago. Today there are partly large woods, but also houses have been built. Nobody ever thought of any danger - till today. The former mines are now filled with water, the soil is wet and smaller and bigger holes have opened all of a sudden in the earth. Some in the woods, so it is barred now, but the biggest hole is just in front of a house where several families live, perhaps 20m deep. Evacuation of course and probably nobody can ever return.

Good news: We had sunshine today! The torrents of rain have moved south and south-east (and hopefully will NOT cause the same damage!). And so much help and solidarity from everywhere! People were asked to donate clothing, toys, sanitary products, groceries etc. to all those who have lost everything - there is already more than needed. Hotels offer rooms for free for the now homeless. Non-affected neighbors help those in need, many use their holidays not for vacations, but to help. Farmers use their machines to clear the roads and streets. The govt. has sent the military for help also and their big wreckers are very much welcome and needed. The hardware store (part of a chain) where I buy a lot of the stuff I need, offers everybody a discount of 20% - only a pic of the damaged/destroyed material is needed.

It will take years, not months, to repair everything and nobody can bring the victims back...

[Whwoz]

Stay safe Clara

[bower]

The former mine situation is very scary! No one ever expected so much rain.
But I'm so happy to hear about your community solidarity. Sometimes the worst events do bring out the best in people, and bring the community together. The same happened here with the extreme snow in January 2020. Even though your neighbors may be strangers, they will come to help you in need. It leaves an invisible bond that is lasting, the knowledge that friends and strangers, we will all stand together when force put to survive!

[Labradors]

Oh Clara, how awful! The damage there sounds devastating.

It's great that people are pulling together to help others devastated by the floods AND that the sun came out!

Stay safe!
Linda

[worth1]

I'm glad I live on a hill.
We get unbelievable amounts of rain sometimes.
These little towns in valleys are going to always be set up for disaster when least expected.
Then to build homes on abandoned mines.
These poor people had no idea what was coming.

[clara]

And the disaster continues... Now in Bavaria and Saxony. The only good thing is that there are much less victims, but new huge damage. If you are interested in winter sports: In Berchtesgaden, the well-known bobsled and toboggan run is completely destroyed, but better there than the city is destroyed. If you have ever been in Germany, you surely have visited Berchtesgaden. It is/was really beautiful there...

I must tell you the story of a real hero. I had already told you that a barrage not very far from here was at high risk to burst. You may have seen pics on tv (Steinbachtalsperre). Fire fighters tried to empty it by installing big hoses, at least a bit to lessen the pressure on the dam. But: The leakage (word?) at the bottom of the dam was blocked where normally water could be let out of the barrage. Absolutely dangerous even to approach this spot. But then the owner of a construction company, a man of 71, said he would clear it. Everybody told him that he could die, but he replied: "If the barrage bursts, it will cost douzens or more of lifes and destroy so many villages. So what is one life against so many others?" And he jumped on one of his machines and cleared the leakage successfully. Now the barrage is empty to 2/3 and there is no more danger that it will burst.

I hope that this hero will be honored in an appropriate way when the whole situation has calmed down!

Correction: The hero is 67 years old. I saw him today talking on tv. He said he would refuse any honor (apart from a "Thank you"), because he "only" did what had to be done.