February floods in Herford in 1946
The February flood in Herford in 1946 was a flood of the century in the Werre river basin that hit the East Westphalian city of Herford from February 8th to 10th, 1946. The flood wave flooded large parts of Herford city center.
Flood development
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The trigger for the flood of the century was an unusual weather constellation. Warm oceanic air that was brought in from the west carried enormous amounts of rain with it. In the period from January 28 to February 26, Herford recorded only one rain-free day: February 14, 1946. From February 8 to February 9 alone, 130 liters fell per square meter, a fifth of the annual rainfall . Herford had already had to deal with floods in the weeks before , but these masses led to the worst known natural disaster in the region.
Due to the lack of firewood after the Second World War, the surrounding forests were cut down so that the soil could no longer absorb water. As a result, Werre and Aa broke their banks within a very short time. The rubble of the Herford-Altenbeken railway bridge, which was still in the Werre, which had been destroyed by air raids, significantly prevented the Werre from flowing away and led to a huge damming above the railway embankment that reached to the top of the rails . Due to the pressure of the pent-up 1.5 million cubic meters of water, the embankment broke in four places on the morning of February 9th. With tremendous pressure, the floods poured into the lower urban area, so that almost the entire city center was flooded. In doing so, they wreaked havoc on the houses and the banks.
Affected areas in Herford
The new town , the settlement area on the upper Werrelauf, part of the old town , the Radewig , and the densely populated lower course of the Werre were particularly affected . In the streets of the city center the water was 1.50 meters high in places. The wells and pumping stations for the drinking water supply were also endangered by the flooding. Fatally, the flood wave of the Aa coincided with it - usually four to six hours earlier than that of the Werre. The Hansabrücke , which stood just behind the confluence of the Aa into the Werre, was also torn away by the water , which interrupted the Herford small railway line until May 1949.
Extent of the flood
The full extent of the disaster became apparent when the water drained completely a few days later. The sandy Werre left a thick layer of clay in the buildings, most of the bridges were damaged, and the weirs and dykes needed repair. The gasometer on Werrestrasse had to be dismantled due to undercutting. Great damage was done to many houses.
Adjacent areas
Other places above and below Herford were affected by the water masses. The Werre in Bad Salzuflen and the Bega in Lemgo overflowed their banks and flooded almost the entire Neustadt. One reason was that the weir at the Langenbrücker Tor was under ice and could no longer be opened. The water was dammed up by the snowmelt and the rain and found its way through the Lemgoer streets, where the level reached up to one meter. Sometimes you could only get through the city by boat. The Bega flows into the Werre in Bad Salzuflen, where the Bega carries more water than the Werre.
Parts of the riverside districts of Löhne-Ort , Gohfeld , Mennighüffen and Obernbeck were also flooded below in Löhne , with Obernbeck being hardest hit. In Bad Oeynhausen , where the Werre flows into the Weser, parts of the Dehme and Rehme sank in the floods. The day before, a 40-meter-long dam had broken on the Werre, which was only closed again two years later. In the Sielpark, a large landscaped park north of the spa park between the Hamm – Minden railway line and the Werre, there was a water level of two meters - and thus land below. The lower plots on the Werre and Kaarbach, which flows into the Werre in the area of the Sielpark, were affected by the flood. The Werster fire brigade was on duty day and night and supplied the affected population with essentials with the help of inflatable boats. But not only the southern parts of Werste were badly hit, but also farms along the Weser. There were also floods on the Weser in Minden .
Inferences
The devastating flood sparked a discussion. The realization: "In the 1400 square kilometer large precipitation area of the Werre, the risk of flooding can only be reduced by building several retention basins ." The Werre Water Association, founded in 1972, took care of their construction .
See also
Web links
- Werre Water Association website accessed on March 19, 2020
Individual evidence
- ↑ Herford History Association: Flood 1946 , accessed on March 19, 2020
- ↑ Frank-Michael Kiel-Steinkamp: After the war the floods came In: Neue Westfälische, July 18, 2018
- ↑ Hartmut Horstmann: The great flood In: Westfalen-Blatt , January 31, 2016
- ↑ Tobias Schneider: Resident remembers the flooding of the Neustadt in February 1946 In Lippische Landeszeitung , February 13, 2016
- ↑ Dirk Windmöller: Flood disaster: The flood of the century 70 years ago in Löhne In: Neue Westfälische , February 9, 2016
- ^ Nicole Sielermann: Three villages fight against the floods In: Neue Westfälische , February 10, 2016
- ↑ Thomas Hagen: Die Jahrhundertflut von Herford In: multimedia.nw.de , accessed on March 19, 2020