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Germany: Storm warnings lifted but threat of flooding looms

December 26, 2023

Authorities in Germany are on edge with some of the country's rivers still rising following heavy rain over Christmas. But the worst of the downpours seems to be over.

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Aerial photo captured by a drone of the large Okertalsperre ("Oker Valley Dam") dam in Lower Saxony, with the dam visibly near capacity
Double the usual flow of water is pushing through the Oker river dam not far from BraunschweigImage: Thomas Schulz/dpa/picture alliance

Germany's national weather service, the DWD, on Tuesday lifted all its heavy rain warnings after several days of persistent downpours had caused flooding in parts of the country over the Christmas period. 

However, the DWD also warned that "[T]he water levels situation on rivers remains very strained in places."

Thuringia: Situation 'still critical' in evacuated Windehausen

The small town of Windehausen in the eastern German state of Thuringia was still largely submerged on Tuesday. But most of its 500 residents had heeded a call to evacuate on Monday.

Only about 100 residents had stayed in their homes, according to the estimate provided by Heringen mayor Matthias Marquardt. Heringen is the larger community to which Windehausen belongs.

Aerial photo of the German town of Heringen-Windehausen, still heavily flooded, on December 26, 2023.
Officials said Windehausen is likely to remain without power for several more daysImage: Christoph Reichwein/dpa/picture alliance

Marquardt said he had issued a ban on entry to the area on Tuesday, saying it would keep the limited remaining access free for emergency services and prevent rubberneckers.

"The situation is currently still critical, but stable," he said. 

Lower Saxony: Oker dam near capacity, Braunschweig on flood alert

To the north in the state of Lower Saxony, almost twice as much water as usual was flowing through the Oker dam (the Okertalsperre, pictured at the top of this story) in the Harz mountains. Authorities warned the dam's capacity has been reached. 

The river Oker had already flooded in the small town that shares its name. 

View of the river Oker, flooding walkways on its banks, in Lower Saxony
In the town of Oker the walkways near the river were no longer passableImage: Thomas Schulz/dpa/picture alliance

Downstream, the much larger city of Braunschweig was anticipating flooding later on Tuesday as the extra water from the dam reached it. It closed several streets near the riverbanks preemptively.

However, officials anticipated that the high-water marks from the recent rains would be reached either late on Tuesday or early on Wednesday at the latest, and water levels would start to recede thereafter.

Over a 100 people were evacuated from a street in Rinteln in Lower Saxony as basements filled with water. Local firefighters were on site with pumps and sandbags.

State premier Stephan Weil visited flood-affected areas in the state on Tuesday, including Northeim, where a dam had broken the previous day. He thanked workers dealing with the floods for their efforts over the Christmas holidays. 

Rhineland-Palatinate: Two-year high-water marks reached, but levels set to recede

The giant Rhine river in western Germany also came close to bursting its banks in places.

Koblenz, and particularly the "Deutsche Eck" ("German Corner") in the city center where the Rhine and Mosel rivers meet, was among the places where this was most visible on Tuesday. 

Koblenz, aerial view of "Das Deutsche Eck," the point where the Rhine and Mosel rivers meet in the city center. December 26, 2023. The water levels are visibly far higher than normal, but the flooding is not extensive.
The meeting point of the Rhine and Mosel rivers in Koblenz was just starting to flood on Tuesday; but officials believed the waters should soon start to recede and that the worst had passedImage: Thomas Frey/dpa/picture alliance

Downstream in North Rhine-Westphalia the high water marks were forecast for slightly later on Tuesday, but in both states by Wednesday at the latest water levels were expected to start falling in the upcoming days.

The DWD currently does not forecast major rainfall for the remainder of the week.

msh/dj (AFP, dpa)