From red / dpa
In the direction of Karlsruhe, ten cars and two trucks were trapped by the water over a distance of about 200 meters. Some of the 27 people affected were able to get themselves to safety on Saturday night. About five cars were affected in the direction of Stuttgart. Photo: 7aktuell.de/Simon Adomat / 7aktuell.de | Simon Adomat
Storms in the southwest are causing cellars to fill up and streets to be flooded. On Autobahn 8 the water was up to one meter high. The fire brigade saved 27 people there. Meteorologists are already expecting the next thunderstorms.
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From red / dpa
06/19/2021 – 11:04 am
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Pforzheim / Karlsruhe – Thunderstorms with heavy rain have caused numerous fire brigades in the regions around Karlsruhe and Pforzheim. The rains also flooded the Autobahn 8 between the Karlsbad and Pforzheim-West junctions, as the police announced on Saturday. The diversion routes were also only accessible to a limited extent due to the storm. According to the fire brigade, the water was up to one meter high on the A8 carriageway.
In the direction of Karlsruhe, ten cars and two trucks were trapped by the water over a distance of about 200 meters. Some of the 27 people affected were able to get themselves to safety on Saturday night. Firefighters then rescued them with rubber boots, waders and a rubber dinghy. About five cars were affected in the direction of Stuttgart.
Blocking should be lifted during the day
Nobody got hurt. The Autobahn 8 in the direction of Karlsruhe was closed for about eight hours. In the direction of Stuttgart, the route still has to be cleaned, said a police spokesman on Saturday morning. The block should be lifted during the day.
The storms also caused numerous fire service missions off the autobahn. Communities in the Karlsruhe and Enz districts were affected. Numerous cellars overflowed, fallen branches and fallen trees blocked roads. The fire brigade also extinguished a tree that had caught fire due to a lightning strike.
In Karlovy Vary in particular, numerous streets were reportedly flooded. The fire brigade was also in constant use in the districts of Pforzheim and Karlsruhe. 255 emergency calls were received in the control center in Karlsruhe on Saturday night. The damage caused was initially unknown.
The risk of thunderstorms continues to increase
The risk of thunderstorms in the southwest is expected to continue to increase over the weekend. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), there are only a few thunderstorms on Saturday. With heavy rain and hail, however, these can already turn out to be stormy. The maximum temperatures are between 29 degrees in the mountains and 34 degrees on the Tauber. According to meteorologists, the risk of forest fires also remains high.
In the night of Sunday there will be more thunderstorms. In a short time, up to 40 liters of rain per square meter can fall, as it was said. Larger hail and heavy squalls are also possible. Even during the day, especially in the afternoon and evening, there should be thunderstorms with heavy rain, according to the DWD. The temperatures are between 25 degrees in the Swabian Alb and 31 degrees in the Hohenlohe.
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