A severe storm surge with exceptionally high water levels caused millions in damage on the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. Many people had to leave their homes due to flooding. In several places, dikes broke or were flooded. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, on the other hand, got off lightly.
According to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), the water level in Flensburg rose to 2.27 meters above normal on Saturday night. Parts of the port area were flooded. It was a flood of the century for the fjord town. In 1904, 2.23 meters were measured there.
For safety reasons, the municipal utilities switched off the electricity in the affected areas. Around 250 forces were deployed. In Eckernförde the maximum value was around 2.1 meters above normal. In the morning, water levels dropped significantly everywhere as the storm subsided.
A disaster alarm was triggered in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district on Friday evening. There were voluntary evacuations in the old town of Eckernförde, as a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry said. A school center served as emergency accommodation. Relief workers also brought residents to safety in other places such as Brodersby and Arnis.
Several dike breaches on the Schlei
In the Schleswig-Flensburg district, dikes broke in at least three places on Saturday night – for example in the Schleistadt Arnis, which is considered the smallest town in Germany with just 300 inhabitants. There was significant damage to infrastructure there, as the Schleswig-Flensburg district announced on Saturday. Residents in Arnis were brought to safety. The flood also led to problems with the supply of electricity, water and sewage.
In the Maasholm area, which is also on the Schlei, a dike broke near Gut Oehe. Residents here were also evacuated. In the morning it was seen that several sailing boats had sunk in the harbor. A horrified owner said only the stern of his ship was still visible. “We’ve been here for 20 years, but we’ve never had this before.” According to the information, a third dike breach occurred in Weidefeld, south of the Olpenitz harbor.
Storms and floods did not pass Sassnitz on Rügen without damage. According to the police, the flood damaged the floor slabs of the beach promenade. Many plates were lifted by the flooding and partially washed away. There is also flotsam like branches on the promenade.
Driver is killed by tree
There was a fatal accident in a storm on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn on Friday afternoon. A 33-year-old woman was killed in her car by a falling tree.
The Rostock fire department recorded 19 missions in storms and floods. The emergency services secured a sinking ship in the city harbor on Friday morning. In addition to fallen trees and fallen branches, there were traffic accidents. In Rostock the water level reached almost 1.50 meters above normal during the night.
Rail traffic, which was stopped on several regional routes in Schleswig-Holstein on Friday evening, started again on Saturday. There were still restrictions on shipping to the North Sea islands and islands. The storm forced the water out of the Wadden Sea and caused extremely low water levels.
Ferry traffic between Germany and Denmark started again on Saturday. As the shipping company Scandlines announced, ships had been sailing on the Puttgarden-Rødby route again since early this morning. Ferry operations on the Rostock-Gedser line should resume from 11:15 a.m.
Only when the water has drained can experts begin to record damage. In addition to dikes and flood protection systems, port facilities, bank reinforcements and buildings are also affected. Storm surges cause high costs on beaches when some of them are swept into the sea and have to be replenished later. The head of the disaster control staff in Schleswig-Holstein’s Ministry of the Interior spoke during the night of damage in the three-digit million range.
