German authorities reported that a fireman drowned, and the deployment of the army was warranted to assist residents who were left stranded on Wednesday after the occurence of massive floods which resulted from heavy rain in the western parts of the country.
An extreme weather warning was issued by the German Weather Service for parts of three states in the western region. Hagen, a city with a population of 180,000, declared a state of emergency after authorities noted the bursting of the Volme river's banks.
Massive Flooding
The weather phenomenon comes shortly before September's scheduled voting of a successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel. The situation could heighten awareness of global issues such as climate change and global warming. The topic is one that the Greens, who run second to Merkel's conservatives, have failed to dominate.
The Hagen crisis team warned residents about the rising water that could reach historic levels that have only been observed at most four times in the last century. The water could rise to such levels in hours after the announcement and authorities urged anyone who lived near the rivers to vacate their homes and move to a higher ground, Reuters reported.
Bernd Mehlig, an environment official from North Rhine-Westphalia, the most affected region of the flood, said the phenomena was previously observed only during the winter season. He noted that the massive flood's intensity was completely unusual for the summer season.
Several drivers were rescued after their cars got stuck in a flooded underpass in Hagen near Altena. Various videos regarding the incident have gone viral on social media platforms showing streets within the city completely filled with water that reaches up to a person's knees and areas that are buried under landslides.
Authorities also reported that a woman was trapped by a fallen tree in the German town of Mettmann. A responder had to keep the victim's head up to keep the water from drowning her as the floodwaters rose. They waited until firefighters could arrive and free her from the downed tree.
Injuries and Casualties
Erkrath residents were also warned against showering or using their washers due to the heavy rain overloading the local sewage system. Authorities from Duesseldorf called on Grafenberg district residents to evacuate their apartments on Wednesday because of the risk of flooding, the Washington Post reported.
Bavaria's Hof county authorities issued a disaster alert on Tuesday after basements in the region were filled with water, trees were downed, and power in some areas were shut down. The country's DWD weather service said about 80 liters of rain per square meter gathered in the span of 12 hours.
Authorities had to evacuate one Hagen care home as firefighters in the region continued to pump water out of hundreds of cellars. One hospital was also filled with floodwater, causing the building's lifts to cease functioning.
Officials reported that one firefighter died after losing his footing in floodwaters and being swept away. They also noted that two men, aged 53 and 81, were missing somewhere else in the region, The Guardian reported.
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