VDelayed trains, fallen trees, objects flying around and suspended ferry connections: The storm “Nadia” brought hurricane-like gusts and a storm surge to northern Germany on Saturday and Sunday night. Fire brigades and the police had to turn out hundreds of times. There is no breather: According to the German Weather Service (DWD), the storm should last until Sunday morning. And the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) is already warning of the next storm surge.
In Hamburg alone there have been around 300 storm operations so far, said a police spokesman early on Sunday morning. A severe storm surge had previously flooded the fish market in the St. Pauli district. According to the BSH, the apex was reached at around 12:17 a.m. The water level was 2.84 meters above the mean high tide, as a spokeswoman said. The BSH had expected water levels in Hamburg to be up to 3 meters above mean high water. As a dpa photographer reported, hundreds of onlookers were drawn to the fish market. Several cars were damaged by the flooding.
“Severe storm surge” in Hamburg
According to the BSH, there was also a storm surge on other sections of the coast on Sunday night. “Not everywhere a severe storm surge like in Hamburg,” said the spokeswoman. However, the entire German North Sea coast was affected. In Bremerhaven, for example, the peak value was 2.14 meters above the mean high water level.
On the North Sea coast, one speaks of a storm surge when the flood water is at least 1.5 meters higher than normal. A severe or very severe storm surge is only spoken of from values of 2.5 or 3.5 meters.
Two ships temporarily in distress
There were also two incidents involving ships in Hamburg and on the North Sea: a barge got stuck under a bridge in the port of Hamburg. A police spokesman said the ship got stuck when driving through the wheelhouse on the Freihafenelbbrücke and got stuck. According to initial reports, there were no injuries. There were two people on board the ship. The cause of the accident was initially unclear. It is possible that the captain misjudged the rising water level of the Elbe.
The second incident occurred 16 nautical miles (approx. 30 kilometers) off the East Frisian coast. There, an unloaded freighter drifted in the sea for several hours. The 190-meter-long “Vienna” clearly had problems maneuvering because of the storm, as a spokesman for the emergency command in Cuxhaven announced on Sunday morning. The machine was too weak to hold the ship against wind and waves. Therefore, among other things, emergency tugs were sent to the distressed vessel. The freighter was secured after about six hours.
“Had we not intervened, the ship would have become a risk to the coast,” the spokesman said. According to initial findings, the 24 crew members were not injured. The freighter, flying the Marshall Islands flag, was not damaged. In order to establish the towing connection, several specially trained seafarers were lowered onto the freighter from a federal police helicopter. However, the storm low over the North Sea made the operation considerably more difficult. At wind force 10, the waves on the North Sea were six to seven meters high.