In the west and south of Germany, summer storms hit on Thursday, causing chaos and disruption. The Hunsrück region was blanketed in hail while flood alarms went off in the Ahrtal area. Rhine-Palatinate, particularly the Ahrweiler district, faced a disaster with a triggering of a disaster alarm as a precaution. Fortunately, despite 300 fire brigade missions, there were no injuries.
The Baden-Württemberg town of Bisingen was also hit hard by hailstorms that caused damage to cellars and streets. Lightning strikes caused issues in various areas as emergency services responded to multiple calls. In Frankfurt, a state of emergency was declared due to flooding in cellars and underpasses that put operations at hospitals and correctional facilities at risk of submersion. Emergency evacuations took place in Bad Schwalbach and retirement homes in lower Franconia due to flooding.
By Friday night, severe weather warnings were lifted across Germany with heavy rain still expected in some regions. The DWD issued warnings for areas in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland. Despite the challenges brought by the storm, emergency services responded effectively to minimize damage and ensure safety for residents in the affected areas.
As the first summer storms hit Germany on Thursday, chaos ensued as cellars and streets filled up quickly causing problems for transportation including rail and air traffic. Hail turned the Hunsrück region completely white while flood alarms went off in the Ahrtal area.
Rhine-Palatinate faced the most dramatic situation with a disaster alarm triggered as a precaution due to 300 fire brigade missions but thankfully there were no injuries.
In other areas like Stuttgart and Zollernalb district hailstorms caused chaos and damage with Bisingen being particularly hard hit by numerous cellars and streets flooded.
Lightning strikes also caused issues in various areas with emergency services responding to multiple calls.
Frankfurt declared a state of emergency as cellars and underpasses filled up putting operations at hospitals and correctional facilities at risk of submersion leading to emergency evacuations taking place in Bad Schwalbach retirement homes.
By Friday night severe weather warnings were lifted across Germany but heavy rain is still expected in some regions with temperature reaching up to 25 degrees.
