Last week was characterised by extreme weather in Germany, thanks to Storm Ylenia and Storm Zeynep. The bad weather is set to continue on Monday, with Storm Antonia touching down in Germany on Sunday night.
The German Weather Service (DWD) has issued a red weather alert for areas in the west and south of Germany, as well as along the Baltic Sea coast, due to gale force winds of up to 120 kilometres an hour expected in these areas. The rest of the country has been issued with an orange alert, with the DWD expecting winds of up to 90 kilometres an hour. In Brocken, Saxony-Anhalt, the warning level has been raised to level 4, the level for extreme storms.
The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency has warned of a storm surge on Germany’s North Sea coast. The storm has already caused problems in the North, with the Fish Market in Hamburg flooding in the early hours of Monday morning. Elsewhere, Storm Antonia has been responsible for a number of incidents, felling trees and causing damage to house roofs and cars.
Deutsche Bahn has warned travellers to expect delays and cancellations across the country on Monday. The state-owned rail company reported that over 6.000 miles of track were rendered inaccessible by the recent storms. Emergency services have been working to clear blockages and repair any damage to overhead lines.
The ferry between Rostock and Denmark was also temporarily suspended on Monday. Metronom, which operates regional train services in Lower Saxony, Hamburg and Bremen, also warned of similar issues. Several flights into Germany have been redirected from Düsseldorf International and Weeze to other nearby airports due to the strong winds.
While people throughout Germany hunker down and brace themselves for Storm Antonia, emergency services are still dealing with the aftermath of the previous two storms that hit the country last week: Storm Ylenia and Storm Zeynap (known internationally as Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice respectively). The two storms caused considerable damage and initial estimates show they will likely cost insurers more than 1,4 billion euros.
The two storms caused damage to property and transport infrastructure, and saw public transport around the country severely delayed or cancelled altogether. Flights were grounded and primary and secondary schools even closed in certain parts of the country. There was also major flooding in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, with the former’s fish market being constantly affected over the duration of the two storms.
Storm Ylenia and Storm Zeynap were responsible for the deaths of six people in Germany, with several other deaths being reported in other countries that were similarly affected, including Poland, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium.