After numerous storm damage caused by thunderstorms and heavy rain on Thursday in some regions in western Germany, the situation defused again on Friday night. The German Weather Service (DWD) canceled all severe weather warnings – but in many places the damage caused by the masses of water had already occurred. Streets were flooded, the ground floor of a retirement home had to be evacuated, and there were disruptions at airports and in rail traffic. In the Ahr Valley, the masses of water brought back bad memories of the flood disaster of 2021, even if the storm was much milder this time.
In parts of Baden-Württemberg, swollen streams flooded roadways on Thursday. Bisingen, southwest of Tübingen, was particularly hard hit, where, according to police, cellars and streets were under water in the early evening. The Red Cross spoke of 60 locations in the region, and a police helicopter was also called in to provide support. According to the police, the situation calmed down later in the evening.
According to the police, a slope in Heiligkreuzsteinach near Heidelberg was in danger of slipping. In the state capital Stuttgart, lightning strikes led to several fire brigade operations and some streets were closed. In the Sigmaringen area, a railway signal box was paralyzed by lightning, which is why train journeys in the region were not possible in the early evening – there were delays and partial cancellations.
There were also around 300 relief operations in the Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate, which was hit by the 2021 flood disaster. This time, however, no one was injured, as the police announced on Friday morning – the basements remained full and the streets were flooded. The water levels of the Ahr and its tributaries and streams were closely monitored.
In the flood disaster in the summer of 2021, 136 people died in Rhineland-Palatinate, 135 of them in the Ahr region and one in the Trier area. Thousands of houses were destroyed and roads and bridges were washed away. During the hours of the flood, there were more than 3,000 fire brigade operations in the Ahr Valley.
In Trier, too, streets were flooded on Thursday after heavy rain and there were also hailstorms. The Koblenz police headquarters reported fallen trees. Significant property damage due to full cellars and flooded streets was also reported in Jünkerath in the Vulkaneifel.
Heavy showers also fell in Hesse, accompanied by thunder and lightning. In Frankfurt, according to the fire department, the heavy rain caused water to enter the Bethanien Hospital from the sewage system and also reach the intensive care unit of the clinic. “However, we were able to contain the damage relatively quickly and prevent it from spreading,” said fire department spokesman Thorben Schemmel. Patient care is not in danger. The fire department sucked out the water in the early evening using special equipment.
No machines were loaded or unloaded at Frankfurt Airport during the thunderstorm in order to protect staff, as a spokesman for airport operator Fraport explained. Many evening departures and arrivals were delayed.
In Bad Schwalbach, southern Hesse, the ground floor of a retirement home was evacuated due to heavy rain. The residents were taken to the upper floors for their safety, the fire department said.
In the Aschaffenburg district in Bavaria, storms with heavy rain triggered more than 200 fire brigade operations. In most cases, full basements were the cause, as the district fire inspection reported. More than 500 people from the entire district were deployed.
On Friday night, the DWD gave the all-clear: all severe weather warnings in Germany could be lifted – even if heavy rain was still expected in the west at the start of the day. But this was supposed to move westwards from Germany in the morning. The DWD said there could still be one or two strong thunderstorms in the northeast on Friday. However, it will be a significantly quieter day compared to Thursday. In addition, temperatures of up to 25 degrees can be expected.
