Saale River flooding its banks in Jena, Thuringia (Germany). Photo taken at the Burgau Bridge on 2 June 2013
Bridgehunter’s Chronicles and Flensburg Files now taking stories on flooding in Europe as well as bridge disasters.
Normally at this time of year, we would be seeing sunny skies with temperatures between 20 and 30° C (70- 80° F), with people grilling in the backyard, construction crews repairing roads and working on bridges, and families preparing for vacation with pupils writing their last exams before graduation from high school. This year has been anything but normal in that aspect.
In the past week, cities in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic have been fighting heavy rains, which have swollen the rivers and caused flooding in many areas. This includes the ones southern and eastern Germany, where the Rhine, Neckar, Elbe, Danube, Saale, White Elster, Mulde, and Ilm Rivers (among them) have flooded the banks and resulted in many towns and cities being evacuated. Many of the towns, like Passau, have already shattered the mark set in 2002, when flooding cut Germany into two parts thanks to the Elbe wiping out every crossing for 48 hours. Especially in Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia, people are preparing for the worst as the 200-year flood is back and records will be smashed again at the expense of their livelihoods.
With the “Jahrhundertflut” there will be many bridges affected by the floods with some of them not being able to withstand the floodwaters and buckling under the stress. In 2002 at least 20 bridges were destroyed by the floods, including a 1700s stone arch bridge in Grimma, located northwest of Dresden. Many others sustained slight to moderate damage, including the ones in Dresden, which the floodwaters of the Elbe flowed over it when 80% of the city was underwater.
The Bridgehunter’s Chronicles is taking stories and photos of the Great Flood of 2013 and the damages done to the bridges to be posted as articles on this page, as well as the ones on its other social networks (facebook, twitter and pininterest). If you know of any bridges that were damaged or destroyed in the storm, you can either post it on the facebook page bearing its name, or send it to Jason Smith, editor and writer of the Chronicles at flensburg.bridgehunter.av@googlemail.com, and it will be posted. The goal is to bring the bridges affected to the attention of the readers, while at the same time get you in touch with the right people with expertise in restoring and/or rebuilding bridges to reincorporate traffic and commerce in the areas affected.
In addition, the sister column The Flensburg Files is also taking on stories of the Great Flood of 2013 to be posted in its column section. If you have any, you can post it in the facebook page or send it to the editor and writer and it will be posted. A summary of the flooding with photos can be seen here. Photos are strongly encouraged for both, and the stories of the flood can be sent either in English, French or German.
We would like to send our wishes out to the people affected by the Great Flood of 2013, which will surely surpass the one in 2002. There are many people and villages cut off from the rest of the world, many livelihoods washed away, and many cities underwater. Whenever there is a chance to give these people a hand, please do so. They need our help and we all in this together until this flooding is through and the lives of those affected are back to normal.
