Because of the storm low, Deutsche Bahn temporarily suspended long-distance traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The storm over Germany led to severe restrictions in rail traffic on Thursday. After long-distance traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia was completely stopped, the first long-distance trains have been rolling again on some routes since midday. As the Deutsche Bahn announced at noon, train traffic will gradually be resumed on the first routes.
However, there are still failures and delays in large parts of Germany. How long the disabilities will last cannot be foreseen yet
The clean-up work on the route between Düsseldorf and Cologne continues, and the ICE route to Wuppertal is not yet passable, said a spokesman. The storm had blown branches and trees onto tracks or overhead lines since the night. In Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, regional traffic has been suspended until further notice, according to Deutsche Bahn information.
Passengers who want to postpone their trip due to the storm can redeem their booked ticket immediately up to and including seven days after the disruption has ended.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
For Thursday afternoon and evening, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency warned of a storm surge in the North Sea and in the Weser and Elbe regions. The flood on the North Sea coast will be 1.00 to 1.50 meters and in the Weser and Elbe areas about 1.50 meters above the mean flood, it said. Further storm surges on Friday cannot be ruled out. The apex in Hamburg-St.-Pauli should be reached shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday.
In many places the fire brigades moved out because of fallen trees, fallen branches and parts of roofs. In the Bad Godesberg district of Bonn, a freight train collided with a fallen branch on the track during the night. The Berlin fire brigade declared a state of emergency weather. There have been dozen weather-related missions since the morning. In Hamburg-Ohlsdorf, two trees about 15 meters high fell on a car and a four-story apartment building. Nobody was injured.
In many places the fire brigades moved out because of fallen trees, fallen branches and parts of roofs.
(Photo: dpa)
The storm also caused initial damage in Bavaria. The police reported dozens of missions. Sometimes there were also power outages. In Düsseldorf, the fire brigade usually moved out because of loose branches, fallen trees or barriers at construction sites. The power went out in the morning in several places in the Palatinate and Koblenz.
In Thuringia, numerous facilities such as the Erfurt Zoo and the Suhl Zoo have been closed. Municipal cemeteries in Erfurt were also closed, so that planned burials and funeral services were canceled.
In the Harz mountains fell over numerous trees and blocked some roads, as the national park and the police announced. The state forests and the national park warned against entering forests. “Going into the forest now is absolutely irresponsible. Even when the storm has subsided, trees can still fall over at any time, ”warned Friedhart Knolle from the Harz National Park on Thursday morning.
The situation on the Brocken was already dramatic on Wednesday, said Knolle. Tourists in particular were irresponsible. Pictures from the summit showed children who were whirling around there and could no longer hold themselves, as well as adults with prams.
The DWD assumed heavy gusts of wind and sometimes hurricane-like gusts of up to 105 kilometers per hour. In the mountains there could even be hurricane gusts of up to 120 kilometers per hour. In the northern half of Germany, “short-lived tornadoes” are not excluded, it said. According to the DWD, the wind from the west should decrease again in the course of the afternoon. It’s getting cooler overall.
More: Travel frustration instead of wanderlust – what is currently spoiling Lufthansa passengers with flying