Flooding threatens several river basins in parts of Europe, where mainly regions around the Elbe are at risk. In the German city of Dresden, the river has risen four meters above the normal level. The capital of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg northwest of Dresden, was at risk of flooding.
For the first time since the 2013 floods, floodgates to a canal have been opened to relieve the river. A third of the water volume is thus fed into the over two-mile-long Pretziener Wehr canal, which was built in 1870.
The Rhine has risen
Even in the federal state of Thuringia, authorities were forced to act because of the water threats. Several hundred residents of Windehausen have been forced to leave their homes, but on Thursday many were able to return since, among other things, the electricity supply was restored and the risk of flooding reduced.
The Rhine River has also risen to high levels, and there the danger was greatest for residents in the town of Lobith in the Netherlands, near the German border. But water levels in the Rhine are expected to drop next week.
Flood warnings were also issued in Hungary where the capital Budapest saw the Danube flood its riverbeds. The risk was increased by heavy rains and amounts of snow that melted.
Whirlwinds in Manchester
In Great Britain, it was whirlwinds that caused the most problems, as the storm Gerrit advanced over, among other things, Tameside in the Manchester region. Roofs were blown off houses and trees fell during tornadoes, posing “a public safety hazard,” according to authorities.
Ferry services between Dover and French ports were delayed due to high winds, while parts of Scotland were left without power.
In the Lake District in north-west England, record amounts of rain were measured, during the advance of Storm Gerrit almost half of the amount of rain usually measured in a December month fell.