Berlin public library battles flooding

By Sophia-Caroline Kosel, Carla Benkö and Gerd Roth, dpa

 

BERLIN – Germany is bracing for further heavy after storms caused widespread flooding and numerous emergency responses across several parts of Germany.

In the south-western city of Rastatt, located 90 kilometres west of Stuttgart, storms and heavy rain caused some 100 emergency responses as basements and underpasses filled with water, according to the police. No injuries have been reported, but significant property damage is anticipated.

Meanwhile, heavy rain caused water to seep into the stacks of the Berlin Central and Regional Library (ZLB). In an Instagram post by the library, employees were seen carrying water out of the building with buckets.

“There are hundreds of thousands of books here, some of which are old and in acute danger,” ZLB Director Jonas Fansa told broadcaster rbb. According to rbb, a rainwater pipe had burst in the library.

“This will lead to a high probability that we will have a problem with mould,” Fansa told rbb. “We now have to see how we can save the books, how much we have to clear out so that the damage is kept to a minimum.”

The library renewed its appeal for a new building in light of the flooding in a post to the ZLB website: “Once again, a lot of water has penetrated our stacks, every short downpour endangers our collections. It’s time for a new building for the ZLB.”

In the German state of Hesse, heavy storms and flooding led to multiple police responses and emergency services removed five fallen trees from two motorways. In the eastern state of Saxony, a train collided with two fallen trees, but did not derail. The trees had to be cleared from the tracks.

In the southern state of Bavaria, streets and basements were flooded, and fallen trees were reported by a spokesman for the fire brigade control centre in Rosenheim.

According to the German Weather Service (DWD), more showers and thunderstorms are expected on Thursday, especially in the eastern and southern parts of Germany, as well as in some central areas of the country.