Soggy east braces for heavy rain after floods
Floods in the eastern states of Saxony and Brandenburg continue to recede, but with heavy rains in the forecast for the region, authorities said Thursday they must remain vigilant.
“The water gauges are sinking towards normal levels,” a spokesperson for Saxony’s LHWZ flood authority said.
After the last several days of flooding, which forced temporary evacuations and left millions of euros of damage, overflowing rivers are beginning to subside.
In the hard-hit Saxon city of Görlitz, which was evacuated of more than 1,400 people over the weekend, officials reported that the Neiße River level was down to 3.44 metres after registering more than 7 metres high at its apex.
Current water gauge levels in Dresden’s old city centre are now at 4.47 metres, but still high compared to the late summer average of 1.5 to 2 metres.
In the state of Brandenburg, where floodwaters hit early this week after flowing through Saxony, water levels also continue to sink. The city of Guben still reported a level 1 flood warning for the Neiße River on Wednesday afternoon, however. The Spree River between the Saxony border and a Spremberg dam had also dropped significantly, authorities said.
Meanwhile the German Weather Service (DWD) issued a heavy rain warning on Thursday for western Saxony. The warning, set to end in the early evening, said that between 25 and 40 litres of rain per square metre could fall in just 12 hours.
“We cannot give the all-clear signal yet,” a DWD meteorologist said.
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“The water gauges are sinking towards normal levels,” a spokesperson for Saxony’s LHWZ flood authority said.
After the last several days of flooding, which forced temporary evacuations and left millions of euros of damage, overflowing rivers are beginning to subside.
In the hard-hit Saxon city of Görlitz, which was evacuated of more than 1,400 people over the weekend, officials reported that the Neiße River level was down to 3.44 metres after registering more than 7 metres high at its apex.
Current water gauge levels in Dresden’s old city centre are now at 4.47 metres, but still high compared to the late summer average of 1.5 to 2 metres.
In the state of Brandenburg, where floodwaters hit early this week after flowing through Saxony, water levels also continue to sink. The city of Guben still reported a level 1 flood warning for the Neiße River on Wednesday afternoon, however. The Spree River between the Saxony border and a Spremberg dam had also dropped significantly, authorities said.
Meanwhile the German Weather Service (DWD) issued a heavy rain warning on Thursday for western Saxony. The warning, set to end in the early evening, said that between 25 and 40 litres of rain per square metre could fall in just 12 hours.
“We cannot give the all-clear signal yet,” a DWD meteorologist said.
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