Storm Bia caused considerable damage and communication problems in Germany. Many were injured. According to the German weather service, the weather on Christmas will be calm but very disappointing.
Cyclone Bia crossed Europe on Thursday and Friday. Strong winds caused damage and paralyzed travel before Christmas in several countries: Great Britain, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland. This disaster also affected our western neighbors.
Also read: Bricks and asbestos were flying in the air. Roofs were ripped off by the storm and poles were toppled
Many were injured
As the “Tagesschau” portal reported on Saturday, the storm has severely disrupted rail traffic since Thursday, especially in the north of the country. Due to the damage, there were numerous cancellations and delays in regional and long-distance transport. Although most of the damage has been repaired, disruptions are expected on routes connecting Hamburg to Frankfurt am Main and Munich and the state of Schleswig-Holstein.
– In some cases, damage can only be fully assessed during daylight hours, a spokesman for German state railway Deutsche Bahn said on Friday evening.
It is also dangerous in other parts of the country. There were several serious accidents in North Rhine-Westphalia – in the city of Cleve, a man was hit by a car while trying to clear a tree that had fallen from the road, and in Overham, a car passenger hit by a tree branch. Injured on the road. Officials have warned of flooding in Hamburg and parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria.
The Hamburg fish market was flooded at night from Thursday to FridayPAP/EPA/FABIAN BIMMER
A wet, hot Christmas
As explained by the German Meteorological Service (DWD), the Christmas weekend will be mostly wet in Germany. Due to incessant rain in next 2-3 days, 60-90 liters of water per square meter will fall in many places. In some areas where storms are forecast, 90-120 liters of rain and snow will fall. The weather will be very warm on Christmas Eve – thermometers will be between 8 and 13 degrees Celsius.
Deutsche Bahn, a spokeswoman for German railways, said on Saturday that trains would be overcrowded over the weekend. In addition to the increased passenger traffic expected during the holidays, they had to postpone their journeys to Saturday and Sunday due to rough weather.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/FABIAN BIMMER