Hanover / Bremen – Trees are knocked down, roof cladding blows through the air and traffic is hampered in many places: storm depth «Sabine» reached Lower Saxony on Sunday afternoon and caused restrictions from the coast to the Harz Mountains. A fireman was injured during an operation in Papenburg, falling trees damaged houses. The disabilities due to the storm should continue until Monday. The German Weather Service (DWD) had issued the second highest storm warning level for large parts of Germany. Heavy rain was also expected.
At Salzbergen in Emsland, an intercity train drove into a fallen tree and was stuck on the open route for two hours. Around 300 travelers sat in the IC from Amsterdam to Berlin. Later the train continued to Rheine and ended there, the Deutsche Bahn said. Because of the “Sabine” storm, the railways wanted to gradually discontinue long-distance transport in NRW starting on Sunday evening. A tree fell near Papenburg on a regional train of the Westphalia Railway, nobody was harmed, as the city of Papenburg announced. A fireman was brought to the hospital in Papenburg with suspected broken bones.
Train traffic stopped
In view of the coming storm, the Deutsche Bahn had initially stopped long-distance traffic to the North Sea coast in Lower Saxony. Regional traffic was later increasingly impaired in many parts of the country. The regional train company Metronom announced that the trains would only run at a maximum speed of 80 as a precaution from 5 p.m. At 7 p.m., a decision will be made as to whether trains can still operate. The Westfalenbahn and the Nordwestbahn also reported delays.
Because of the storm sabine, trips by ferry to the North Sea islands on the coast had been canceled or rescheduled in the morning. The connections to Wangerooge, Borkum and Norderney were affected. The ferry between Neuharlingersiel and Spiekeroog also left earlier due to the storm coming up. The evening departure from Baltrum to the mainland was canceled. The ferry service between Langeoog and Bensersiel was also stopped at noon. The shipping companies also expected delays for Monday and Tuesday.
Firefighters in continuous use
In many parts of the country, the fire brigades were used due to trees being blown over, and numerous roads were temporarily blocked. In the Harz the B498 was blocked between Goslar / Oker and Clausthal / Altenau. Storm damage and disabilities were also reported from the towns of Osterode and Herzberg. In the Upper Harz, all bus traffic was stopped. The firefighters also announced that the storm operations were underway throughout the Emsland region. Even on the motorways in Lower Saxony, there were repeated storm-related disabilities because branches blew on the road.
On the Brocken, storm depression “Sabine” caused extreme hurricane gusts. By early Sunday evening, top speeds of 156 kilometers per hour were measured, as a spokesman for the German Weather Service (DWD) said. According to forecasts, the hurricane on the Brocken plateau could also reach 180 km / h during the night.
Airports and schools
Several connections at the airports in Hanover and Bremen were canceled on Sunday due to the storm. In Hanover, flights to and from Paris, Amsterdam, Munich and Frankfurt were affected, the airport said. At Bremen Airport it was also about connections to Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam and Stuttgart.
At all schools in the district of Goslar, including the vocational schools, classes should be canceled on Monday, the district said. Schools in Bremerhaven and Delmenhorst should also remain closed.
The situation in Hildesheim
All information from the Hildesheim district around hurricane depression “Sabine” is available in this overview and in our live ticker.
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