Storm “Zoltan” hits Germany with full power | EUROtoday

Shortly earlier than Christmas, a extreme storm hits Germany. In the north there are main issues with rail visitors, ferries are canceled and Christmas markets stay closed. There are warnings about storm surges on the coasts.

The violent storm “Zoltan” handed over Germany and left behind loads of injury.

There is a danger of flooding on the German North Sea coast and Hamburg on Friday. In the Elbe space of ​​Hamburg, the police warned of a extreme storm surge within the morning. According to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), the water ranges will then rise to round 3 meters above imply excessive water. According to police, the affected space needs to be averted. According to the knowledge, the flood peak is anticipated at round 11 a.m. on the St. Pauli gauge with a peak of as much as 3.05 meters above the imply flood stage.

The specialists from the BSH additionally predicted extreme storm surges on Friday for the East Frisian coast and the Weser space. Flood waters there are anticipated to be 2.5 meters to three meters above common within the morning and noon. On the North Frisian coast, water ranges of two meters to 2.5 meters above imply excessive water are anticipated. A storm surge is taken into account extreme if the water stage is 2.5 meters above imply excessive water.

Cologne district severely affected

The Cologne district of Poll was additionally badly affected by the storm within the night. Numerous buildings and infrastructure there have been affected. The storm, which hit throughout the day, brought on huge injury to the roofs of many homes. Roof tiles fell down and entire elements of the roofs have been coated. A photovoltaic system was even utterly torn down. The streets have been plagued by particles from the broken buildings. Several streets have been significantly badly affected and have been actually devastated by the storm. Around 30 buildings recorded injury of various levels.

The injury to a warehouse, which was partially utterly coated, is especially critical. Debris fell onto the street and landed on the railway embankment and overhead traces, inflicting disruption to rail visitors. During the night time, Deutsche Bahn technical companies started repairing the injury to the overhead traces.

Two injured in Saxony-Anhalt

In Saxony-Anhalt, quite a few bushes fell throughout the night time because of the stormy climate and branches and visitors indicators broke off. In Salzwedel and Gommern (Jerichower Land district), two folks have been barely injured, because the Stendal police introduced this morning.

According to the police, a van in Salzwedel left the street because of robust winds and a tree fell on a automobile in Gommern. In the Harz, between distress and fear, in keeping with Magdeburg police, the B242 is closed till December twenty sixth as a precautionary measure because of the danger of storm injury.

Rail visitors affected

As anticipated, rail visitors was hit onerous by the storm on Thursday. There have been quite a few cancellations and delays in regional and long-distance transport because of the storm injury. “In some cases, damage can only be finally assessed in daylight,” stated a railway spokesman within the night.

The railway traces within the north are significantly affected. According to preliminary info, long-distance trains between Hamburg/Hannover, Kassel and Frankfurt/Stuttgart/Basel in addition to Würzburg and Munich are canceled at present. There are delays and remoted cancellations between Berlin/Leipzig/Erfurt and Frankfurt. ICE and IC trains between Cologne and Kassel may even be canceled in the intervening time. According to info from Friday, no ICE and IC trains cease in Marienhafe, Norden, Norddeich and Norddeich Mole. The EC prepare routes in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein are additionally affected.

There have been additionally weather-related delays and cancellations in regional transport on Thursday, which continued into the night time. Near Hamburg, visitors was stopped on some routes.

Christmas markets remained closed

The hurricane-like gusts not solely brought on bushes to fall onto tracks, but additionally onto roads. Christmas markets remained closed or closed earlier and ferries have been canceled – such because the journeys between Rostock and Gedser in Denmark. In addition, the Fehmarnsund Bridge in Schleswig-Holstein needed to be utterly closed, in keeping with police.

The Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) issued a flood warning for the whole state. In many locations the primary rivers would overflow their banks and flood forestry and agricultural areas.

All of Germany affected

In uncovered places on Helgoland and the North Sea coast in addition to on Fehmarn within the Baltic Sea, the German Weather Service (DWD) warned within the night that wind forces of ranges 11 and 12 can’t be dominated out. The service wrote on