GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Recovery efforts in the state of Bavaria stretched into Monday following deadly weekend flooding that felled trees, inundated cellars and submerged roads.
However, U.S. forces stationed in the Upper Palatinate district in eastern Bavaria appear to have escaped largely unscathed, despite the widespread damage caused by days of heavy rains.
At U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria training areas, exercises continued as usual over the weekend, Scott Ghiringhelli, a 7th Army Training Command spokesman, said Monday.
Just outside Hohenfels Training Area, 75 miles north of Munich, roads were closed in many directions Saturday as water and earth shifted across pavement, making travel nearly impossible. Cars were left on roadsides, and people took to the streets with shovels to clear debris.
There were over 25 flood-related incidents in the districts of Cham and Regensburg on Saturday alone, an Upper Palatinate police statement said.
Located about 65 miles south of Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr, Regensburg is a popular destination for U.S. service members and their families. Roads around Tower Barracks remained closed Monday.
A U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
As a result of the flooding, two people have been killed, and scores remain missing, The Associated Press reported Monday.
A firefighter was found dead in Pfaffenhofen on Sunday after the inflatable boat he was in reportedly capsized. A 43-year-old woman was declared dead Monday after she was found in a basement in Schrobenhausen, according to the AP.
Over 3,000 people are currently being evacuated, and 20,000 volunteers and first responders have been deployed, Bavarian governor Markus Söder said Monday while touring the flooded region with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to a statement from Söder’s office.
“The situation is and remains serious, critical and tense,” Söder said. “Cleanup work is underway, and there are further dam breaches and flooding locally.”
Heavy rains began to fall Thursday as a low-pressure system developed over the southern Alps and moved across Bavaria, Gerhard Müller, a meteorologist from the German weather service, said by email Monday.
Between 4 and 7 inches of rain has deluged upper Bavaria, swelling rivers and sending floodwaters into towns and across farmland.
A state of emergency was declared across stretches of Baden-Württemberg and five Bavarian districts. Heavy rains and strong thundershowers occurred across 17 additional districts.
Stars and Stripes’ reporter Marcus Kloeckner contributed to this report.
Rescuers found the nearly submerged vehicle and recovered the woman’s body
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A fifth person has been confirmed dead in German floods
A woman's body has been recovered from a car that sank into floodwater in Bavaria
Persistent heavy rain led to widespread flooding over the weekend. While the situation has now eased in southwestern Germany, water levels remained high in parts of Bavaria, particularly on the Danube and in the Rosenheim area in the southeast. Some major railway lines, including several leading to Munich, were still blocked or disrupted.
The bodies of four people who died in the floods were found Sunday and Monday, three of them in inundated basements.
Police reported the fifth victim Tuesday in the small town of Markt Rettenbach. They said a driver who apparently had ignored barriers blocking a flooded road on Monday slipped off the road into a field and called emergency services to alert them that her car was filling with water.
Rescuers found the nearly submerged vehicle and recovered the woman's body.
The German government said on Monday that deadly flooding served as a warning to keep up the fight against climate change, hours after an official advisory council said the state had fallen behind its greenhouse gas targets.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a visit to affected areas on Monday that federal emergency services and the military were being deployed.
“We must not neglect the task of halting man-made climate change. This is another reminder that must be taken away from this disaster,” he said.
Economy and climate minister Robert Habeck, during a visit of affected regions on Sunday, also noted that climate change was causing severe weather events.
However, a panel of government climate advisors said on Monday that Germany is likely to miss its own 2030 greenhouse gas targets, contradicting Habeck’s projections in March and calling for new measures.
Germany‘s Climate Protection Act will require the government to take corrective measures for the 2030 target if the expert panel confirms its findings next year.
Amid first signs of the flooding‘s economic impact, German utility EnBW said its hydroelectric plants along the Neckar river and its tributaries were either running at reduced capacity or were out of operation, particularly small stations.
The company, which is based in southern Germany, said this was partly due to the large amount of floating debris.
Uniper said it took preparatory measures to shut its Irsching power plant if necessary as a dam of the Paar tributary of the Danube threatened to burst.
Earlier on Monday, Audi cancelled some production shifts on Monday at its main Ingolstadt plant as some staff could not come into work, though the factory itself was not affected.
The early and the late shifts assembling the A3 and Q2 vehicle models were cancelled, the Volkswagen-owned luxury carmaker said in an alert to staff on Sunday, which was made available to Reuters on Monday.
Germany‘s farmers association flagged massive damage to fields and buildings in the sector, saying it was too early for a more precise estimate.
Navigation authorities earlier on Monday warned that parts of the river Rhine in southern Germany, an important route for commodities and fuels, were closed to cargo shipping for lack of overhead space to sail under bridges.
Rail company Deutsche Bahn late on Sunday advised against travelling in southern Germany.
A car washed away by floodwater rests on a well, in Rudersberg, Germany, Monday, June 3, 2024
Qualifying showed the importance of a quick start at the ninth and penultimate round of the 2024 World Sidecarcross Championship in Rudersberg
That was emphasised more in the morning warm-up
as the teams commented on the track condition
Saturday’s mud had become very sticky
and the tight nature of some bends made passing difficult
The team’s presentation was warmly welcomed by the fans
with German hero Tim Prummer getting the second loudest cheer
The honour for the biggest reception goes to the young Latvian Lielbardis twins
with the big fan numbers seemingly following them wherever they go
the paddock settled into a business-like mood ahead of the main action
This was going to live up to Rudersberg’s traditional standard of high attendance in the party tent and trackside
Race One – Another amazing start for Mike Hodges and Ryan Henderson took them into the lead at the downhill right-hander
followed by Brett Wilkinson and Joe Millard
Ten times champion Daniel Willemsen with young Tayim Kaethoven alongside had another great start
leading Marvin Vanluchene/Glenn Janssens in the early stages
but the red plate holders were quickly up to fourth place
Vanluchene simply had to ride for a strong finish
nursing his passenger’s injured ribs
bringing it home in a fine fourth place and eighteen points
Hodges held the lead for two laps before Wilkinson took the advantage
The French Prunier brothers were then pushing hard
Those three outfits opened a gap from a mammoth fight between five teams as Davy Sanders/Jarno Steegmans
Koen Hermans/Ben van den Bogaart and the Weinmann brothers were like a freight train lap after lap
with Sanders and Weiss making contact on more than one occasion
just when everyone was breathing a sigh of relief for him
This rewarded the Prunier brothers for their persistence and consolidated third place into an almost impossible position for Hermans to now reach
It was to be hoped the Mega/WSP of Hermans would be good for race two
with Wilkinson/Millard in a terrific runner-up spot
Race Two – Expectations were high for this one
with Wilkinson aiming for victory and the overall win
with Wilkinson once again hard on the right side and therefore closest to the bend
with the track having seen support solo and quad races in the intervening period
with six or seven outfits skating into the first turn
two left-handed sidecars hit the front in style
Mike Hodges was on fire as he led Brett Wilkinson for the second time today
Jason van Daele/Loet van der Putten were next up
The other big title names such as Vanluchene and Lielbardis were stuck a little in the pack
which was a bit disjointed as the Buob brothers crashed heavily on the start straight
Hermans was also down in eighth place and fighting through
eventually passing Vanluchene into third place
There was another set-back for the Lielbardis boys when they followed Jason van Daele into a tight turn
added to an earlier incident when Bruno almost went over the handrail
battling through as one by one the chasers caught and passed the flying Mike Hodges/Ryan Henderson
It was damage limitation once again for the red plate holder Vanluchene
as he and Glenn Janssens weighed up the sums and took a measured ride to fifth place
The lead is now thirty-one points with two races left
so barring a “no score” in Italy
Wilkinson’s victory cements their fifth place and gives them a shot at fourth should Hermans falter more in La Colla
Report by Barry Nutley – Images by WSC
Germany for Round 13 of the 2023 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship spilled over into race day with hordes of spectators converging on the track in the morning sunshine
The Rudersberg organisers certainly know how to put a major event on
with all the razzamatazz we could expect for such an occasion
Romaric Chanteloup’s passenger Bastien Chopin broke both wrists in their massive crash yesterday
was discharged from hospital overnight with mild concussion
Chanteloup himself is nursing a heavily strapped leg but was here trackside
British crew Lee Foyle and Dan Phelps were also out after crashing yesterday
both with back injuries and heavy bruising
This track is fast and tough in the extreme
Warm Up – The two names at the top of the standings headed the times in the morning
with the track in good shape and ready to go
Etienne Bax and Marvin Vanluchene were both aware of the significance of this penultimate round
All the other main contenders were fired up and going well
Dan Foden’s passenger Ryan Humprey had been cleared to ride following his dehydration and complete exhaustion yesterday resulting in a trip to hospital
They circulated steadily but still affected with vision problems
Ryan decided wisely to rest up and miss the races
Race One – The heat was on and the tension high as the gate dropped
it was that man Tim Prummer once again who thumped his KTM off the line
Vanluchene/Musset were on his tail followed by Hermans/Van Den Bogaart and Wilkinson/Millard
Bax/Cermak were eighth into turn one and set about the recovery plan
Vanluchene did not take long to go ahead of Prummer with Heinzer/Betschart behind Wilkinson
and Bax had fought past Heinzer to get on the back wheel of Wilkinson who in turn was now fourth behind Hermans
Vanluchene was reeling off fast lap after fast lap with Bax/Cermak now up to third place some fifteen seconds adrift of Hermans/van Den Bogaart
Still Tim Prummer/Jarno Steegmans kept Wilkinson/Millard at bay
with the British crew desperate to find a way past
There was a four-way scrap here with Wilkinson
Heinzer and the Lielbardis brothers line astern and split by three seconds
posting a fastest lap getting him close to the race leaders and looking to pass
Wilkinson was fighting off his Lielbardis rivals for fourth place in the race and the standings
In eighth place now sat Killian and Evan Prunier who had also posted a very quick lap
Lielbardis eventually squeezed by Wilkinson/Millard to go fourth and move within thirteen points of the British team
The heat and pace were beginning to tell on these immensely fit athletes
but still they fought tooth and nail at the front and all the way down the field
Koen Hermans relentless pressure paid dividends as he moved into the lead on lap thirteen
with Marvin Vanluchene safe in second place eighteen seconds ahead of Etienne Bax
This was also a great display by Hermans/Van Den Bogaart consolidating third in the title chase still further
and boosting their confidence for race two
Tim Prummer had run into trouble with a stationary outfit late in the race
dropping him out of the top ten on the final lap to finish just ahead of his compatriots the Weinmann brothers
Race Two – Another race of attrition awaited the field on this very tough track
Many passengers had blistered hands and felt totally exhausted after race one
Koen Hermans was neck and neck with Prummer/Steegmans approaching turn one
with Vanluchene and Musset just ahead of Bax/Cermak
Vanluchene was in the lead from Hermans and Bax
his KTM shed a sprocket and chain at the end of the opening lap
Bax knew what he must do to keep his hopes alive and on lap three he moved into second behind Vanluchene
Wilkinson and Millard moved ahead of Keuben/Lebreton to grab fourth
way ahead of their rivals the Lielbardis brothers who were down in eleventh at this point
Bax now had the bit between his teeth with a fastest lap and closing hard on Vanluchene
Hermans had a mechanical problem dropping him to fifth
and Bax was shadowing Vanluchene at the front with Wilkinson/Millard fifteen seconds behind in third ahead of Killian and Evan Prunier
Marco Heinzer moved past Keuben into sixth place behind Hermans who seemingly could not find his race one speed
also relegating Keuben as the big Dutchman moved into seventh place
going ahead on lap seven to redress some of the points deficit
Wilkinson was too far back in third to assist
but he would have been very happy with that position
The Bax/Cermak machine was back in business
but ice-cool Vanluchene was containing the problem
Still Wilkinson/Millard held a fine third place
and this they must protect because Lielbardis was up to seventh and riding fast
Etienne Bax and Ondrej Cermak were on target to take the overall GP victory
but still adrift from Marvin in the standings
with Wilkinson/Millard holding a brilliant third place as Hermans once more moved into fourth
Race Report by Barry Nutley – Images courtesy of WSC