A strong storm forces firefighters to declare a state of emergency in Berlin

The German capital experienced a brief storm on Monday, however The severity of the firefighters baffled. The sky darkened over Berlin at 7:30 pm, and heavy rain swept the capital and parts of Brandenburg, with winds of up to 110 kilometers per hour. The fire brigade declared an air emergency until 1 a.m. Tuesday and participated in 391 rescue operations. The situation calmed down on Tuesday.

The fury of the storm caused chaos in the German capital and caused an S-Bahn (intercity) train to derail after it ran over a fallen branch. Several passengers were evacuated to safety via emergency stairs.

The rain effect has been added to the wind effect. Several branches of trees were broken due to the strong storms recorded across the city. In some cases, entire trees were uprooted, as happened in Volkspark Friedrichshain, a large park in the center of the capital. The huge Tiergarten park also suffered from the storm, with many trees swayed by the strong winds.

Despite the extraordinary nature of the event, no deaths were reported, although five people were injured (three in Berlin and two in Brandenburg). Two of them were injured when a branch fell at a bus station in Berlin-Charlottenburg. According to the fire department, the two people were taken to the hospital on Monday night for treatment.

Still, the storm’s fury didn’t alarm meteorologists like Dominic Young, who works for the service. Witter.net. It was a strong storm. This sometimes happens in Berlin. “It was accompanied by heavy rains and storms, as well as a strong hurricane,” the expert told the newspaper. He adds, “The reason was a cold front that arrived in Berlin after a very hot day.”

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“It is true that it was a strong storm, but it wasn’t the first time this happened in Berlin and it won’t be the last either,” explained Matthias Rudolph, from the Potsdam weather service. “This happens two or three times a year and its origin is related to high temperatures,” he added.

It has been getting more and more torrential in Berlin in recent years and the city experienced a veritable flood on June 29, 2017. In 18 hours, it rained as much as a quarter of a normal year. 2.8 million cubic meters of rainwater mixed with sewage rushed through Berlin’s combined sewage system. Wastewater treatment plants received twice as much volume as usual.