- Title: Germany hit by flooding, snowfall
- Date: 5th January 2017
- Summary: WISMAR, GERMANY (JANUARY 4, 2017) (REUTERS) CAR DRIVING ALONG FLOODED ROAD VARIOUS OF FLOODED ROAD SANDBAGS IN DOORWAY PEOPLE STANDING IN DOORWAY LOOKING AT FLOODED ROAD SANDBAGS (SOUNDBITE) (German) WISMAR RESIDENT, DETLEF KASTEN, SAYING: "We were forewarned but we didn't think the water level would be this high. We were told it would be 1.65 metres above the normal level and now it's actually 1.77 metres. Nobody predicted it, we were a bit surprised." (SOUNDBITE) (German) WISMAR RESIDENT, ALEXANDER SEVERIN, SAYING: "This time they were well prepared and gave us plenty of warning. It worked really well with the sandbags. The city worked well this time, and the water didn't come too high. It's been worse in the past." VARIOUS OF SAFETY BARRIERS ON FLOODED ROAD FLOODED ROAD MUNICH, GERMANY (JANUARY 5, 2017) (REUTERS) SNOWY ROAD LEADING TO MUNICH'S "SIEGESTOR" (TRIUMPHAL ARCH) QUADRIGA ON ARCH VARIOUS OF SNOW PLOW CLEARING ROAD VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CLEARING SNOW WITH SHOVELS VARIOUS OF SNOW PLOWS CLEARING SNOW SNOW IN OLYMPIC PARK PEOPLE WALKING IN SNOW WOMAN RUNNING ON SNOW BIRDS ON EDGE OF WATER SIGN WARNING PEOPLE NOT TO WALK ON THE ICE SNOWY OLYMPIC PARK
- Embargoed: 20th January 2017 09:35
- Keywords: storms rain rainfall flooding snow snowfall Baltic Sea
- Location: WISMAR & MUNICH, GERMANY
- City: WISMAR & MUNICH, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Environment,Weather
- Reuters ID: LVA0015XT0DAF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Germany's northern Baltic coast was hit by flooding overnight on Thursday (January 4), with residents rushing to put down sandbags and avert the floodwaters.
Storm Axel battered the northern states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with heavy rainfall bringing flooding along the coast.
In Wismar, the water level rose to 6.8 metres compared to a normal water level of 5 metres.
"We were forewarned but we didn't think the water level would be this high," local resident Detlef Kasten said.
Fellow Wismar resident Alexander Severin said that locals had been warned so had enough time to prepare and avoid serious damage to their homes.
"It worked really well with the sandbags. The city worked well this time, and the water didn't come too high. It's been worse in the past," he said.
At the other end of Germany, Bavaria saw heavy snowfall.
On Thursday morning (January 5), Munich was covered with several inches.
Local residents used shovels to clear paths while snow plows were out in force on the roads.
In mountainous areas of southern Bavaria, temperatures fell to lows of around -20 degrees Celsius. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
