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Germany: Trains canceled amid southern storms and flooding

June 2, 2024

Trains between Munich and Stuttgart were canceled again on Sunday, as residents and authorities battled heavy rain. Two wagons of an intercity express train derailed in Baden Württemberg due to a landslide.

https://p.dw.com/p/4gXT4
Many streets are flooded in Babenhausen in the Bavarian-Swabian district of Unterallgäu
Several areas of Germany's southern states have been inundated by heavy rainfallImage: Nikolas Schäfers/dpa/picture alliance

German authorities continued to take measures to contain dramatic rainfall and flooding in the south, with several train services remaining canceled and volunteers deployed to evacuate citizens and distribute sandbags.

Germany's train operator Deutsche Bahn announced the cancellation of train services between Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria's capital Munich. The two southern states have so far been hit the hardest by the storms.

A Deutsche Bahn spokesman German news agency DPA spoke to could not confirm how long the suspension would last.

Sunday's weather forecast predicted strong thunderstorms in central and southern Germany. 

The German Weather Service maintained the highest warning level for the region between Lake Constance and Upper Swabia to western Upper Bavaria, cautioning about severe weather.

The Bundeswehr, Germany's army, stepped in to provide support to relief efforts.

Voluntary emergency services were involved in a rescue of 10 people and several dogs on June 1, 2024.
Volunteers and relief agents have been deployed to evacuate citizens Image: Daniel Reinelt/Eibner/IMAGO

Train derails in Baden-Württemberg

Meanwhile, late on Saturday, two wagons of an intercity express train derailed in the state of Baden-Württemberg after a landslide caused by heavy rainfall hit the railway tracks. The train was carrying 185 passengers, none of whom were injured.

Passengers were evacuated from the train, a spokesman for the national railway operator was cited by German DPA news agency as saying.

The incident occurred in the town of Schwäbisch Gmünd, some 50 kilometers east of the city of Stuttgart, where the landslide hit.

The first two carriages of the train derailed but did not tip over, the railway spokesman said. A car was also hit, but the driver was unharmed.

The train had been rerouted between the cities of Ulm and Stuttgart due to the flooding.

State of emergency in Bavaria as Danube swells

In the Upper Bavarian town of Schrobenhausen, firefighters and rescue services prepared on Saturday evening to evacuate some 670 people.

Ten Bavarian municipalities had declared a state of emergency by Saturday evening, amid flooding in the Danube river and several of its tributaries. The German Weather Service warned of new showers and thunderstorms from the north.

Areas most likely to be affected on Sunday included the Swabian Jura, Augsburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg and Regensburg.

Calls for evacuations in the district of Augsburg were extended on Saturday evening, with trains between the district and Stuttgart suspended on Sunday. An emergency shelter was set up at the Augsburg exhibition center.

Emergency personnel from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) load sandbags for southern Germany at the logistics center.
German authorities are transporting sandbags to areas affected by the floodingImage: Jason Tschepljakow/dpa/picture alliance

Germany's Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) placed thousands of sandbags in the flooded areas in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, as well as areas threatened by flooding. By Sunday night, some 30,000 sandbags were due to have been delivered.

Requests for sandbags have intensified amid the continuous rainfall.

rmt/kb (dpa, DW sources)