Lilienthal – The situation in the flood-threatened community of Lilienthal near Bremen remains tense. “It’s been raining all day, which is very unfortunate,” said the community spokeswoman late Tuesday morning. Fortunately, the water levels fell during the night. This is a kind of buffer in the event that it continues to rain – as the German Weather Service expects. “The emergency services are still on duty around the clock and are checking the situation.” Around 20,000 people live in Lilienthal.
Because of the flooding, the fire brigade, the Technical Relief Agency (THW), the German Life Saving Society (DLRG), the German Red Cross (DRK) and numerous farmers have been on duty for days. The population’s willingness to help is great. “We are overwhelmed by the solidarity here. We have a lot of help from different directions. The whole community sticks together,” said the spokeswoman.
Almost 100 people in Lilienthal are currently unable to go into their houses or apartments; they had to leave their homes on the night of December 28th. Another 350 people have now been able to return to their homes, the spokeswoman said.
The dikes, which were soaked with water, were stabilized with sandbags. In order to protect threatened houses, a barrier with extra-large sandbags was built as close as possible to the dike. Such a bag weighs up to 1.3 tons, said the spokeswoman. Such so-called big bags lie in two rows on a line around 250 meters long.
A mobile dike around 800 meters long was built elsewhere – also as a preventative security measure. The mobile dike was initially filled with air; if necessary, the emergency services can quickly pump water into the large hose to create a stable protective barrier. “We are constantly reassessing the situation,” said the spokeswoman.
Two forests in Lilienthal are no longer allowed to enter. The forest soils have become so softened due to the increased ground and surface water levels and the persistently high water levels that some trees are no longer stable and trees are already falling over, according to the relevant general order. The dike systems and the areas near the dike are also not allowed to be entered. Exceptions apply to emergency services.
2024-01-02 11:35:14
#flood #situation #Lilienthal #Bremen #remains #tense
