Germany floods: Scholz visits hard-hit areas

• The body of a missing 43-year-old woman was found in a flooded basemetn in Bavaria
• Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits the affected regions on Monday
• A firefighter died and another is missing
• One civilian is believed to be missing in a flooded basement

Here are the key updates on the flooding in Germany on Monday, June 3.

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

Woman's body found in Bavarian cellar

German emergency services have found the body of a 43-year-old woman who went missing on Sunday in the cellar of a flooded building in the town of Schrobenhausen in the southeastern state of Bavaria.

This is the second reported death from the latest bout of flooding in Germany.

On Sunday, a firefighter was found dead in the Bavarian town of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm after his rubber dinghy capsized during rescue operations.

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

Paar dam suffers three breaches

A dam on the Paar River in the Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm district of Bavaria has suffered three breaches, local officials said.

The Paar is a tributary of the Danube.

The district council told residents in the municipalities of Baar-Ebenhausen and Manching to leave the ground floor of their homes and to seek refuge in higher levels.

Some 800 people were taken to safety in Baar-Ebenhausen and 250 people were sheltering at a school in the city of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm.

The council said that around 4,000 emergency workers and Bundeswehr soldiers were active in the district.

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

Rescue workers still searching for missing firefighter in Bavaria

Rescue workers are still looking for a firefighter who went missing during an operation in flood-stricken southern Germany.

The firefighter had been on a rubber dinghy that capsized near the municipality of Offingen in the southeastern state of Bavaria. It lies around 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of the state capital, Munich.

Four emergency workers managed to reach land unharmed after the dinghy capsized after it was hit by a strong current.

Police said authorities were using two helicopters in the search, which could not be deployed overnight due to extreme weather conditions.

A woman in the town of Schrobenhausen north of Munich was also still missing on Monday.

On Sunday, a firefighter was killed after his rubber dinghy capsized in the Bavarian town of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm.

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

Severe weather warning issued for Tübingen

The German Weather Service (DWD) has issued a severe weather warning for the southwestern town of Tübingen, in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. 

The DWD said people could be affected by heavy rain, flooded roads and possible landslides, advising residents to avoid hard-hit areas and take preventative measures.

Although the DWD had canceled all severe weather warnings, it said the situation worsened in some areas in Baden-Württemberg. 

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

German Red Cross: 'Epochal shift' needed in civil protection

Gerda Hasselfeldt, the president of the German Red Cross (DRK), said Germany "has a lot of catching up to do" when it comes to civil protection. 

"The recent floods underline the importance of strong civil protection in Germany," Hasselfeldt told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. "We, therefore, need an epochal shift, especially when it comes to the sustainable and future-oriented financing of civil protection."

Hasselfeldt's remarks echoed the demands of several local authorities, with the Bavarian Association of Municipalities calling for "a new strategy" in light of the challenges posed by extreme weather events.

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

Bavaria state premier: Floods expected to last days

Days of rainfall have caused the levels of several rivers to rise sharplyImage: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa/picture alliance

Markus Söder, Bavaria's state premier, said he expects flooding to continue until Wednesday or Thursday.

"It is is receding somewhat," Söder told Deutschlandfunk radio, noting that even if the rain stopped, the water levels of the larger rivers would remain a threat. 

Söder called on residents to follow evacuation instructions.

"The water rises very, very quickly and [it] is simply dangerous," he warned in remarks to public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk. "The most important thing is to protect life," he said, adding that the situation was "serious and critical" in many places. 

With "enormous financial damage" expected, the Bavarian leader called for help from the federal government. 

"The water may not stay for long, but the damage is long-lasting and enormous," he said.

Söder also said insurance for property owners against natural disasters should be compulsory, adding that he would bring up the topic at the next state premiers' meeting.  

"Because we can't always simply cover these damages by the state," he said. 

According to Söder, German state leaders are "very, very united on this," but the federal government "is stalling."

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

Regensburg declares emergency as Danube rises

The Bavarian city of Regensburg has declared a state of emergency after the water level in the Danube River reached 5.8 meters (19 feet).

According to the Bavarian Flood Information Service, the river was continuing to rise, reaching 5.9 meters at Regensburg by 7 a.m. local time (0500 UTC/GMT).

On Tuesday last week, the average level there was around 2.7 meters. 

Regensburg, which lies north of Munich, is the latest of several cities in Bavaria to declare a state of emergency following days of unrelenting rain.

Authorities said water levels in many of the Danube's tributaries had already peaked and were starting to drop, but that has led to more flooding in the Danube itself.

The German Weather Service has forecast more showers south of the Danube, with thunderstorms expected later on Monday. 

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

Esslingen builds temporary dam to hold back floodwaters

The city of Esslingen am Neckar, near Stuttgart, said it was building a temporary dam to save the downtown area from flooding.

The city said in a statement that the Neckar River's water level was expected to peak on Monday morning, potentially causing canals in Esslingen's center to overflow.

It said almost 1,500 tons of stone and sand were being piled up overnight into Monday morning to build a makeshift barrier.

"The flood situation on the Neckar is tense and currently unclear," the statement said. It advised residents to keep away from the river and not to enter cellars and underground garages in the city center.

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

Deutsche Bahn warns rail services severely reduced

Deutsche Bahn has urged passengers to postpone their train journeys in southern Germany, adding that many services are severely disrupted or canceled.

In a statement on its website, the German rail operator announced there were no long-distance trains running between Stuttgart and Munich as a result of storm damage.

"We advise against traveling to the affected flood areas in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg," the statement said. "Munich is currently not accessible by long-distance trains from Stuttgart, Würzburg and Nuremberg."

It added that any trains still running were expected to be very busy.

Affected passengers who have purchased a ticket valid for Monday can get a refund or still use their ticket to travel at a later date.  

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

DWD cancels severe weather warnings, remains cautious

The German Weather Service (DWD) has canceled all severe weather warnings after a flood-hit weekend in the south of the country.

However, there are still areas of showery rainfall with potential for heavy rain, the DWD announced early on Monday morning.

06/03/2024June 3, 2024

Scholz set to visit flood-hit areas

Following the flooding of large areas of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (both SPD) are set to visit some of the flooded areas on Monday.

Together with Bavaria Premier Markus Söder and Minister of the Interior Joachim Herrmann (both CSU), Scholz and Faeser will assess the current situation and talk to the emergency services. The President of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, Sabine Lackner, is also expected to meet the chancellor.

The situation remains precarious with numerous streams and rivers bursting their banks and flooding entire towns and villages in southern Germany. A state of emergency was declared for several districts, and thousands of people had to be evacuated from their homes, sometimes by helicopter.

jsi/kb (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)