Aufgrund des verheerenden Unwetters spitzt sich die Lage in Deutschlands östlichen Nachbarländern Österreich, der Tschechischen Republik und Polen weiterhin zu. In Deutschland sind im Südosten Bayerns einige Straßen überschwemmt worden, aber die Folgen des Unwetters halten sich laut Polizei noch in Grenzen. Man habe die Lage weiterhin im Blick.
In der Tschechischen Republik hielten Hochwasser und Überschwemmungen die Einsatzkräfte in Atem. Mindestens vier Menschen galten weiter als vermisst. In Opava und anderen Städten im Grenzgebiet zu Polen mussten Tausende Menschen aus ihren Wohnungen in Sicherheit gebracht werden. Ganze Siedlungen standen unter Wasser. Eine Schlammlawine schnitt den Gebirgsort Mala Upa von der Außenwelt ab.
More than 250,000 households without electricity
In the south-west of the Czech Republic, the Husinec dam in the foothills of the Bohemian Forest overflowed due to flooding. The highest flood alert level was reached on the Elbe in Litomerice. More than 250,000 households across the country were without electricity. Due to the softened ground, numerous trees fell onto power lines.
There were also significant disruptions to rail traffic because trees fell on the tracks and water flooded stretches of road. Around 40 railway lines had to be closed completely. At Studenka station, the important main line between Prague and Ostrava was under water. Numerous Eurocity connections to Poland and Slovakia were therefore cancelled. Poland’s railway company PKP suspended train services to and from the Czech Republic.
First fatality in Poland
There has been a first fatality in Poland. “We have the first confirmed death by drowning here, in the Klodzko district,” said Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who attended a meeting of the task force there. According to a spokesman for the local police, the dead man is a man who died in the village of Krosnovice, not far from Klodzko. The police were unable to rescue him because the place was flooded.
Tusk repeated his appeal to the population to take the authorities’ calls for evacuation seriously and to get to safety in time. “The situation is dramatic in many places.”
The small Lower Silesian town of Klodzko with 26,000 inhabitants is located a hundred kilometers south of Wroclaw on the Kłodzko Neisse, a tributary of the Oder. The situation there escalated during the night. In the morning, the water level of the Kłodzko Neisse was 6.65 meters. An average water level of one meter is usual, a spokesman for the local fire department told the German Press Agency.
Lower Austria declared a disaster area
In Austria, too, the water levels of several rivers continue to rise dramatically. Numerous streams have already overflowed their banks due to the persistent rain. The entire state of Lower Austria around Vienna has been declared a disaster area.
“The situation is becoming increasingly serious due to the massive rainfall across the country,” said the deputy governor (prime minister) of Lower Austria, Stephan Pernkopf, to the APA news agency. He warned of “massive flooding.” In some places, there is a risk of landslides because the ground is completely wet. Streets are flooded.
In some communities in Lower Austria north of Vienna, the fire brigade had to rescue people trapped in their homes during the night. One person’s car got caught in the waters of the Pielach, which had overflowed its banks, west of Vienna, and had to be rescued. The fire brigade is partly using inflatable boats.
People in streets near the river were asked to leave their homes in several communities. The declaration of a disaster area gives authorities expanded powers, for example to order evacuations. In Vienna, operations on two subway lines were partially suspended as a precautionary measure.
In Germany, the situation is still relatively relaxed at the moment. Due to the persistent rain, some streets in Bavaria have been flooded and some cellars have also been flooded. Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria and Upper Palatinate are currently particularly affected, as reported by the Bavarian Flood Information Service.
Few missions so far in Germany
The police in Lower Bavaria reported that the storm events were largely contained. During the night there were only a few operations due to fallen trees and flooding of streets. In Passau, according to a spokesman, there are “usual” road closures in the old town.
On the Elbe in Saxony, the first water level has reached alarm level 2. In Schöna, the corresponding guideline value of five meters was exceeded early in the morning, according to data from the State Flood Center. The average value there is 1.58 meters, and 5.39 meters were most recently reported.
In Dresden, after demolition work on the partially collapsed Carola Bridge on the Dresden Elbe bank, preparations are now underway for the approaching flood. As fire department spokesman Michael Klahre confirmed this morning, the machines required for the demolition have already been moved out of the bank area. Further measures will be discussed in the course of the morning as soon as the flood control team has met, he explained.
According to the expectations of the State Flood Center, the current water level of the Elbe in Dresden exceeded the 4-meter mark this morning. This is about two meters above the normal level. This means that alarm level 1 has been reached. According to Klahre, however, no further measures are currently planned; the situation is being monitored for the time being.
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