Munich, 2 June 2024 – A firefighter died, a train derailed and hundreds were evacuated from their homes. There is a flood emergency in Bavaria and the situation is so serious that the firefighters have announced that the order for now is “to save the lives and safety of people”. The damage in the Land of Monaco is extensive and several municipalities have already decreed a state of emergency due to natural disasters. According to President Markus Soeder, 40 thousand rescuers in addition to the army are in action in the region.
Firefighters and volunteers try to stem a flood in Baar-Ebenhausen (Ansa)
A firefighter dies
There is already one victim, as mentioned. A firefighterwho was on board a dinghy together with three colleagues, died in Pfaffenhofen ad der Ilm. Also here, several hundred people were evacuated from their homes. Memmingen prison was also evacuated, west from Munich, with the 100 inmates who were moved to another prison. In Baden-Wuerttenberg, near the town of Schwäbisch Gmündun, a train suffered the derailment of two carriages due to a landslide that blocked the tracks. According to what was announced by the spokesperson of the national railway service, there were no injuries among the 185 travelers on board.
Bavaria on its knees due to the floods that hit the Land (Ansa)
Non-stop rain
According to the German Weather Service, some regions in southern Germany have recorded in 24 hours the amount of rain that usually falls in an entire month. The floods also caused the failure of two dams on the Paar River, a tributary of the Danube, which caused the closure of the nearby highway.
