Streams swelled, cellars filled up, residents were locked in their houses: storms caused chaos in the Zollernalb district in Baden-Württemberg on Sunday. Hundreds of firefighters were deployed. In the afternoon in Balingen, heavy rain burst its banks and streets were flooded, said the commander of the local fire brigade, Florian Rebholz. He reported on 80 deployment sites, three of which were time-critical because people were in distress.
The garden show in Balingen closed its doors at 3 p.m. due to the storm, according to Rebholz. The site did not have to be evacuated because the visitors left voluntarily because of the storm. Nobody got hurt.
The Eyach has burst its banks. It is a tributary of the Neckar. The normal level in Balingen is 30 to 60 centimeters, according to Rebholz, on Sunday it was 2.08 meters. “We have such a heavy rain event every five to ten years.”
Several families in Balingen could no longer leave their homes because the water had washed over the buildings. They had fled to the upper floors, some had stayed there, some had been taken out of the buildings with ladders, according to the fireman.
Due to storm damage between Balingen and Albstadt-Laufen, the railway line in the Zollernalb district was also temporarily closed. There were delays and partial failures, DB Regio said on Twitter. The Interregio-Express 6 was affected. In the evening, the train announced that the route was freely passable again.
The German Weather Service had warned of severe thunderstorms and heavy rain in Baden-Württemberg on Sunday afternoon.
