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WEATHER

At least 18 swimmers die during heatwave

UPDATE: A US student and an eight-year-old boy are among at least 18 swimmers to have died since Friday as bathers try to cool off in a heatwave which has brought highs of 36C to Germany.

Published: 21 July 2014 10:05 CEST
Updated: 21 July 2014 15:30 CEST
At least 18 swimmers die during heatwave
Lifeguards try to rescue a man on the beach in Ückeritz in northern Germany on Sunday. Photo: DPA

At least seven people died in Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania, four in Berlin and Brandenburg, three in North Rhine-Westphalia, two in Bavaria, one in Hesse and one in Lower Saxony. 

The 19-year-old US student died on Friday in the Bavarian Allgäu after falling into a waterfall. A 23-year-old friend tried in vain to pull her from the water, a police spokesman said on Saturday.

The American and three locals had wanted to swim to the Buchenegger waterfalls in Oberstaufen. But while climbing a five-metre high cliff, the 19-year-old slipped and fell into the water.

The 23-year-old jumped in after her, but couldn’t help and had to be rescued himself, according to police. Divers recovered the body of the woman, who is believed to be from Tacoma in the state of Washington.

Her family has been informed. One man from her hometown said: "We are a community in mourning for a wonderful teenager."

And in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania seven people drowned over the weekend while swimming.

A police spokesman in Rostock said that an eight-year-old boy was among the dead. He disappeared into the water while swimming on Sunday at Graal-Müritz on the Baltic coast. He died later in hospital in Rostock.

An 88-year-old man also died on Sunday swimming in a lake in Feldberger Seenlandschaft.

A husband and wife, both aged 59, died swimming off the beach in Rügen on Sunday. The couple from Bergen were found lifeless in the water.

And on Saturday a 46-year-old man from Hamburg who was on holiday at Hiddensee died in the Baltic Sea.

There were also deaths in Brandenburg. On Sunday the body of a 69-year-old man was recovered from the Havel river at Rathenow and on Saturday a 69-year-old died from heat failure while swimming in Grabowsee also in Brandenburg.  

According to the German Life Guard Service (DLRG) 250 people drowned in Germany last summer in the holiday season from June to mid-August.

Men over the age of 60 are at particular risk, the DLRG said.

The heatwave is set to end with storms and cooler temperatures hitting the country from Monday, according to state weather service DWD.

CLICK HERE for a more detailed forecast

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FLOODS

German communities brace for flooding as water levels continue to rise

Water levels on the Elbe and Oder rivers in Germany are rising, sparking preparations for floods as the clean-up across central Europe gets underway.

Published: 19 September 2024 10:12 CEST
German communities brace for flooding as water levels continue to rise

As several countries in Europe face the devastating aftermath of severe flooding following torrential rain, communities in some regions of Germany are trying to manage rising water levels. 

According to a forecast by the state flood centre, the water on the Elbe river has not yet reached expected peaks. In the city of Dresden, the Elbe rose above the six-metre mark on Wednesday. There, as well as in Schöna on the border with the Czech Republic, the flood peak is expected on Thursday.

There is a cautious all-clear along other rivers in the east and south of Germany. Further north, however, Brandenburg is looking anxiously at the Oder river, which is expected to bring more water in the coming days.

READ ALSO: Parts of Germany hit by flooding as torrential rain wreaks havoc across central Europe

Flood crisis teams are due to meet in Frankfurt (Oder), located at the border with Poland, and other municipalities in Brandenburg on Thursday. A level 1 flood alert was issued for sections of the river on Wednesday.

According to the State Office for the Environment, floodplains and meadows close to the banks are expected to start flooding, with the areas of the Oder village of Ratzdorf to Eisenhüttenstadt particularly affected.

The state office believes the highest alert level – level 4 – with a water level of around six metres will be reached in the next few days near Ratzdorf, where the Oder reaches Brandenburg territory.

Clean-up work underway in central and eastern Europe

In the flood-hit areas from Poland to the Czech Republic and Austria, the clean-up work has now begun, but the situation is only slowly easing.

In many places, the emergency services are still struggling with masses of water. Soldiers are also providing support in Poland and the Czech Republic. However, the authorities are not yet giving the all-clear. So far, more than 20 people have tragically lost their lives in the region due to the extreme weather.

In the Polish city of Wroclaw in the west of the country, the flood wave was not expected until Thursday night. As several tributaries that also carry a lot of water flow into the Oder between Olawa and Wroclaw, the possibility of flooding in the Lower Silesian metropolis cannot be ruled out, said an expert.

Flooding in Bresgau Poland

A drone captures the high water levels in Bresgau, Poland, on September 19th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/PAP | Maciej Kulczynski

Flood defences in Wroclaw have been reinforced as a precautionary measure. One third of the city of 630,000 inhabitants was flooded during the Oder flood in 1997.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to visit Poland on Thursday afternoon. According to the EU Commission, the trip is being organised at the invitation of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer are also expected to attend the meeting.

The talks are likely to focus on the question of funds from Brussels for reconstruction although the extent of the damage is still unclear.

With reporting from DPA

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