Cooler and drier weather is looming over flood-hit regions of northern and eastern Germany, leading to less heavy rain and flood warnings, Deutsche Welle reports.
However, flood warnings and river overflows continued to haunt much of northern, central and eastern Germany on Thursday morning, even though forecasters hoped for a gradual improvement in the coming days.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. Attending a sandbag-filling facility in the town of Sangerhausen, Scholz praised volunteers for their help in combating flooding in the surrounding area.
Nobody watches the clock — everyone gives their best. This is a great sign of solidarity. It shows that we can stand together in Germany. We will not leave anyone alone.
Scholz’s visit comes as members of his Social Democrat Party (SPD) are urging the federal government to consider declaring a state of emergency that would raise additional funds for flood relief.
Chancellor Scholz, Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and Saxony-Anhalt’s state premier, Reiner Haseloff, visited the southern Harz mountains on Thursday to take a closer look at the situation.
Forecasters still expect rain on Friday in the region, although not as much as in previous days. By the weekend, drier weather, sub-zero temperatures and light snowfall are expected, according to Cathleen Hickmann from the German Weather Service (DWD).
It is getting drier; the heavy rainfalls are stopping.
A spokesman for the state interior ministry reported on Thursday that areas, such as Celle, Oldenburg, Emsland, Osterholz, Verden and Heidekreis, were still on high alert.
As of Wednesday, some 100,000 people from emergency services to volunteers had mobilised to help in Lower Saxony alone. French emergency crews were also on standby to help with flood relief efforts in the state.
