DIn the Rheingau, the peak of the flood wave on the Rhine is expected to pass over the course of Tuesday, according to forecasts by the Mainz flood detection center. Almost all of the parking spaces on the banks of the Rhine could no longer be used on Monday. And the Uferstraße B 42 in the Rheingau was also closed early Monday morning between Eltville-Hattenheim and Geisenheim. Commuters now have to take the cumbersome route through the wine villages on the old federal road in the direction of Wiesbaden. The flood diversion route through the vineyards was opened for traffic in the opposite direction. This narrow path leads over Hallgarten towards Johannisberg and Geisenheim.
Shipping traffic on the Middle Rhine, between Bingen and Koblenz, was suspended from Sunday to Monday; which also applies to the entry into the Main at the Kostheim lock near Mainz. The Ingelheim Rhine ferry stopped its trips on Sunday evening because it was unable to maintain emergency operations due to a construction site. From Tuesday on, shipping should also be suspended on the Lower Rhine as far as Cologne. The duration of this closure of the most important German inland waterway cannot yet be foreseen.
Flooding of some lower areas
At the weekend, the first critical high water mark was exceeded near Mainz with a water level of 4.75 meters. For life on the bank and in the city of Mainz, however, this does not play a role, apart from the flooding of some lower-lying areas directly on the river. The situation is correspondingly relaxed at the moment. Even the six meters reported on Monday at noon is a value that, statistically speaking, occurs about every two years at the Mainz gauge.
In the course of Tuesday, the apex of the current wave should be reached with a water level of around 6.30 meters. A maximum of 6.45 meters is expected in Kaub and 7.10 meters in Koblenz. After that, however, the level would have to fall again thanks to the strong runoff, according to the prognosis of the Rhineland-Palatinate flood reporting center. However, it is unclear whether this will happen quickly, given the constant rain.
Mobile flood protection walls
In Wiesbaden, additional mobile flood protection walls were erected at the weekend in Schierstein and Kostheim, in Kostheim on Rosengasse, on Flözerdippegässchen, on Mainpforte and Kilianstrasse. In Schierstein, a wall with a length of 120 meters was built on Christian-Bücher-Straße between Bernhard-Schwarz-Straße and Am Lindenbach. In Hattenheim, where the sports field was under water on Sunday, the campsite was cleared and the caravans had to be driven away.
The level has also risen on the Main. That is why the Offenbach public utilities have started to close the city’s Deichtore along the Main. The so-called advance reference level for flood protection in Offenbach is located near Würzburg. According to the information, reporting level 1 has been significantly exceeded there since Saturday. Normally, when level 1 is reached, the responsible road construction department at the municipal utilities has around 48 hours to close the gates before the water is on the dike. This time, however, could be shortened this time because the tributaries of the Main from the Franconian Saale and Kinzig have also risen rapidly due to rain and thawing snow. In addition, the high water level of the Rhine reduces the possibility of regulating the water level of the Main through weirs.
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