Germany
Report
By: Maria Camila Rojas
In May and June 2013 the east and south of Germany suffered the worst flooding for over 500 years. This extreme flood started after several days of heavy rain in central Europe, affecting countries such as Czech Republic, Austria and primarily the southeastern states of Germany. The spring weather before the flood had been one of the three wettest in 156 years in Germany. The country saw twice as much rainfall in the month than the average, causing the ground in the region to become saturated. The already saturated soil made the land flood a lot easier and quicker. From May 30 to June 1, 150 to 200 mm of rain fell, when in just a few days was the equivalent to two and a half months rain on average.
The most affected states of Germany were in the south east especially in Saxony-Anhalt. Passau, a city built around the Danube River, was the one worst affected by the flooding. The streets of Passau were been transformed into rivers, full of soldiers that were evacuating people in rubber boats.
Thousands of people were evacuated from homes and factories across eastern and southern Germany and central Europe, as disaster relief services were sent to handle the effects of the devastating floods in towns and cities across the region. More than 10,000 people were evacuated from their homes, including 4,000 people in the chemical industry centre of Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt state. Most of the houses kept standing up after the flood the same as industries.
4 Magazine / FEB 2014