The German Weather Service (DWD) warned that constant and heavy rain until January 4 will bring a risk of fresh flooding in areas of the country that have already been badly affected by recent floods.
Relentless and heavy rain is expected in many parts of Germany until Thursday, the DWD has announced. The rainfall is expected to make already unmanageable flooding worse in areas that have been most affected over the past week.
As of Tuesday morning, there are nine areas in Germany on a Level 3 severe weather warning. This includes Wuppertal in North Rhine-Westphalia, with the red warning spilling over into Hesse and Lower Saxony, which has already been severely affected by flooding. Across much of the country, and particularly in the northwest, there is a Level 2 significant weather warning in place.
During the Christmas period, several rivers in Germany burst their banks after heavy rain. Between December 29 and 31, some hilly areas saw a fortnight’s worth of rain in just three days.
Challenges continue as authorities fear that the banks of the Aller River could burst at more locations since flooding has likely softened its dykes. The river runs through Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
People living in the town of Verden, Lower Saxony, received a visit from Olaf Scholz on New Year’s Eve. Scholz said that emergency services, German police, volunteers and the army were working to limit the effects of flooding. “The weather and nature are challenging us”, the Chancellor said.
The emergency services have discouraged people from engaging in “disaster tourism” and to avoid visiting the affected areas, so as to not disrupt emergency operations.
The news comes in tandem with an announcement from Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service that 2023 was the hottest year on record. As the weather gets warmer in Germany, slow-moving storms and consequent flooding are expected to be one of the main ways that the country is affected by climate change between now and 2050.
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