Reply With QuoteAt least 40 now dead in Germany? It’s truly horrendous.
Wow! How awful for all concerned - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-57850504 - My thoughts go out to the region.
At least 40 now dead in Germany? It’s truly horrendous.
Awful scenes indeed.
Absolutely wild and dreadfull for all concerned. It looks like Belgium and Holland have been badly affected also. What with the west coast US and Canada heatwave it looks like the scientists who say we are at environmental tipping point have it about right or even possibly too optimistic.
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Dreadful news. So sad to see :(
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Yes, we're on the receiving end - and we had our fair share of rain as well. Deluge-style rain in Limburg. Luckily the rain has stopped. All the water from Germany and Belgium will reach our borders within the next few days. The Army's 13th Brigade is sent down to Limburg to help (Proud to have served in the 13th!) and also a battalion of our Marechaussee (military police) is on the scene for police-related assistance. The Engineers and amphibian troops are on their way as we speak.Originally Posted by Ruggertech
A lot of villages and towns (like Valkenburg and Maasticht) are located in valleys. You get the picture. In 1993 and 95, two floods hit the area in the winter. Again due to rain (and snow). After that a lot of action was taken to prevent this happening again. But now, the city of Roermond will become the center of all trouble: in Germany, a purpose-built basin (purpose-built as in: to prevent flooding...) is overflowing and the water will flow in the already overflowing river Ruhr (Roer in Dutch). At Roermond, the Ruhr and Meuse (Maas in Dutch) meet. That will cause a lot of problems within the next few days.
So there is basically a domino effect in play that will take days to complete, and if it stopped raining in Germany now, right this moment, there are districts where you are that will still flood in days to come? That is dreadfull and I hope you, your loved ones and everyone else can stay safe.
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awful, flash floods are becoming more prevalent in the last few years and it’s a worldwide problem
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Domino Effect is the correct phrase.
Germany has now a death count of 81, Belgium 12, Holland 0. Big difference is that a lot of people got killed by landslides in those countries. We don't have hills that are so hazardous. More worrying is that Germany has a list of 1300 missing persons!!! Hopefully that has only to do with the fact that the telephone infrastructure is down in a lot of cities.
Maastricht (the river Meuse runs through the town) is more or less safe. After the 93/95 floods, special retaining walls we built to prevent this sort of events. Tonight, at the highest point of the river, 95% of the water stayed where it should be, the last 5% only flooded streets etc. People can return to their homes today. I'm sure that the walls will be adapted (higher, stronger) within a year. We (Dutch) throw endless sums of money into water defense works. No limits, money wise
As a result of the Domino Effect: I live 200 kms north and I live about 25m above sea level. Nothing to worry here. But farmers are urged to get their cattle off the low grounds (outside the dykes) and all recreational sailing is prohibited on the main rivers. The current and debris in the water can cause problems for yachts. High water is expected to hit this region around Wednesday.
Last edited by thieuster; 16th July 2021 at 08:35.
Fingers and toes crossed it's just lack of telephones regarding the 1300 people.
I've ridden all round Holland on a Norton Commando, and so yes, I cant see landslides being a problem for you for obvious reasons. Best of luck anyway.and please keep updating.
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Really sad this. RIP to those who lost their lives.
Living at the receiving end has its advantages: more northern towns are no able to start preparing for the floods. A city like Nijmegen (river Waal) and Arnhem (river Rhine) expect to see the highest level of the rivers early next week. Those city councils have ordered the vacation of the streets, parking lots etc close to the river. That way, the damage can be minimized and it allows a clear path for civil services etc to reach the retaining walls etc.
And of course there's a bunch of people (we call them 'vinegar p.ss.rs') living close to the river who had to be evacuated. Now complaining: "We were evacuated too soon! They should have waited until we'd had the time to pick up our belongings!"
For a lot of home owners, this will be the litmus test: "...will my floating house be able to rise and fall this much?" After 2000, a lot of newly-built houses were built on the outside of the dykes. Normally a brilliant location: water, the changing seasons etc. And sometimes high water in the river. But this is excessive. We'll know the answer next week.
Living at the receiving end has its advantages: more northern towns are no able to start preparing for the floods. A city like Nijmegen (river Waal) and Arnhem (river Rhine) expect to see the highest level of the rivers early next week. Those city councils have ordered the vacation of the streets, parking lots etc close to the river. That way, the damage can be minimized and it allows a clear path for civil services etc to reach the retaining walls etc.
And of course there's a bunch of people (we call them 'vinegar p.ss.rs') living close to the river who had to be evacuated. Now complaining: "We were evacuated too soon! They should have waited until we'd had the time to pick up our belongings!"
For a lot of home owners, this will be the litmus test: "...will my floating house be able to rise and fall this much?" After 2000, a lot of newly-built houses were built on the outside of the dykes. Normally a brilliant location: water, the changing seasons etc. And sometimes high water in the river. But this is excessive. We'll know the answer next week.
My largest supplier is in Venlo, fingers crossed.
Parts of Venlo are being evacuated as we speak. 10,000 people had to leave.
Heartwarming detail: a large beer brewery has offered all their beer crates so the people can stack their furniture!
Last edited by thieuster; 16th July 2021 at 19:10.
100+ casualties in Germany now.
My former colleague Chris, who's a geography teacher told me his opion why there are so many casualties in Germany, apart from the 'landslide effect'. Germany's landscape is part of the problem: the valleys where the rivers normally run are narrower than downstream (in the Netherlands) and the hills are steeper. The water hits the valley, the rivers rise very quickly in the valleys and the stream creates an enormous speed. Add to that the debris in the water: branches and even complete trees are pushed forward in the water. People get tangled in the branches and drown. Horrible. In so many ways the same effect as the Christmas Tsunami in Thailand many years ago.
Menno
Global warming? How does that happen? It can't be man made surely!?
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