Offenbach, Berlin Thunderstorms, heavy rain and hurricanes have caused severe damage in parts of Germany. The thunderstorms caused by the “Emmelinde” low hit North Rhine-Westphalia first. For parts of the federal state, the German Weather Service (DWD) issued the first official severe weather warning in the early afternoon due to severe thunderstorms. The meteorologists later extended the warning to parts of Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia, Bavaria, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, heavy rain and hurricane gusts caused chaos, especially in Lippstadt and Paderborn. According to the police, 30 to 40 people were injured in the Paderborn area, at least ten of them seriously. “During a thunderstorm on Friday afternoon, a tornado cut a path of destruction from west to east through the middle of Paderborn in the direction of the eastern parts of the city,” the police said in the early evening. Officials reported millions in damage.
The fire brigade also reported a suspected tornado in Lippstadt, about 35 kilometers away, which had caused serious damage. A DWD spokesman said several reports of tornadoes had been received – not only from Lippstadt, but also from Lüdenscheid and Meschede. However, these reports still need to be verified.
Around 120 bathers were temporarily trapped in a leisure pool in Lippstadt because fallen trees blocked the entrance. The trapped people were later freed, the fire brigade reported.
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In Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, despite massive thunderstorms, there was no major damage until the evening. Police and rescue workers reported isolated fallen trees, hail damage to cars and flooding of basements. There were initially no reports of injuries.
Travelers in long-distance German traffic had to adapt to restrictions. In North Rhine-Westphalia in particular, there are several stops, as the group announced on Friday evening. Accordingly, on the Cologne – Wuppertal – Dortmund/Hamm route, for example, the ICE and IC trains between Cologne and Dortmund will be diverted via Düsseldorf. “The stops in Solingen, Wuppertal and Hagen will be omitted,” it said. On the long-distance route between Cologne/Düsseldorf and Berlin, there are currently no ICE trains between Bielefeld and Hanover due to an emergency medical service. It was not immediately known whether the operation was related to the storm.
Debris lies in front of the St. Clemens Catholic Church in Hellinghausen near Lippstadt, the top of which was destroyed.
(Photo: dpa)
Even before the storm began, there were disruptions in many places in Germany at the start of the weekend. According to the district government, school lessons in the Cologne administrative district ended at 11.30 a.m. so that the students could get home safely. In Rhineland-Palatinate, all schools sponsored by the Ahrweiler district remained closed. In mid-July 2021, 134 people were killed and thousands of houses destroyed in a flood in the Ahr Valley after extremely heavy rain. To this day, many people live in alternative quarters.
Numerous events have been canceled as a precaution. A thanksgiving ceremony planned in Bad Münstereifel with Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki for helpers in the flood disaster last July was cancelled. In Cologne, among other things, the zoo and the forest botanical garden were closed, and the cemeteries should also remain closed to visitors from the afternoon. Curious: In Solingen, a Christmas market that was canceled due to the corona virus is only to be rescheduled from Saturday and thus one day later than planned.
Heavy thunderstorms had already swept across western Germany on Thursday, but the damage was a little less severe than feared. At times, rail traffic to the Netherlands was interrupted. There were also severe storms in the north. Thunderstorms and gusts of wind triggered hundreds of fire brigade operations in Lower Saxony.
And this is how it should go on: The German Weather Service expects thunderstorms in the south on Saturday night. Otherwise the thunderstorms should move towards Poland and the weather should calm down from the west. On Saturday there could still be isolated short thunderstorms with stormy gusts in the north-east, which will subside in the afternoon.
More: Insurers’ ombudsman reports hardly any complaints after the Ahr Valley disaster