Parts of southern Germany are again threatened by heavy rainfall after a heavy storm last week, meteorologists said on Thursday, as the government promised aid to those affected by the recent floods.
For southern Bavaria, models predict rainfall in some areas of up to 60 millimeters between Saturday evening and Monday afternoon, said meteorologist Dirk Mewes of the German Weather Service (DWD).
That wouldn’t be as severe as last week, he noted, but it could still pose significant danger because of the already swollen waterways and soggy ground. Mudslides were one such risk.
According to the DWD, further to the west of Bavaria, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, local thunderstorms with hail and strong gusts of wind are expected from Thursday afternoon to Friday. Heavy rain, up to 40 mm, can also fall there in a short time.
Several locations in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have experienced the kind of rainfall that they statistically only experience every 50 to 100 years. So far, six people have died in the floods.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised that the state would help people in need.
“As with previous floods, we will map the damage together with the federal states and organize aid,” Scholz promised in a statement to the Bundestag on Thursday.
Scholz recognized that federal and state governments needed to be better prepared for such disasters. He said flood protection would be improved on the coast and inland.
According to the latest service updates, many, but not all, long-distance rail services are back in operation across much of southern Germany.
Meanwhile, police said eight people were slightly injured when an unknown substance was released during cleaning work in a basement in Bavaria.
A police spokesman said those affected had complained of mild respiratory irritation on Thursday after coming into contact with the substance on a private property in the town of Baar-Ebenhausen. Three of the slightly injured were firefighters.
The police assume that it was probably nitric acid, which may then react with another substance. However, the spill was “very short-lived and not particularly intense,” the spokesperson said.
