Since Saturday, southern Germany has suffered numerous floods due to incessant rain. Several Bavarian districts declared a state of emergency, homes were evacuated and rail connections suspended. To intervene in the most affected states, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) mobilized nearly 400 people.
Many train cancellations on Sunday
On Saturday, no trains ran either on the Munich-Bregenz-Zurich line or on the Stuttgart-Ulm-Augsburg-Munich line. Today, no trains are running between Ulm and Munich and Deutsche Bahn also announces many cancellations on train lines running in southern Germany, such as the Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-Crailsheim-Nuremberg line or the Stuttgart-Mannheim-Frankfurt(M) line.
The German railway company advises against traveling to these areas today and offers free rescheduling of train tickets. According to the German Meteorological Agency, the level 2 warning concerns precisely the southern area of Germany.
Flooding and evacuations
In the eastern part of Baden-Württemberg, floods developed overnight from Friday to Saturday. The municipality of Meckenbeuren, in the Lake Constance district, had recommended Friday evening to some 1,300 people left their homes and apartments facing the risk of flooding. Today, the risk persists, according to the German media Badische Zeitungand the south of the country is trying to limit the damage by installing sandbags, emptying cellars and closing roads.
“The German Weather Service announced on Sunday morning that severe thunderstorms with precipitation of up to 25 liters per square meter could occur in a short time from midday south of the Main to the Danube“, according to German media. The rains should subside during the day, but there will still be heavy thunderstorms on Monday.
