July floods 1956
Map with all linked sites: The July flood in 1956 was a catastrophic flood that arose after days of continuous rain in the mountainous regions of Thuringia , Lower Saxony , Hesse and East Westphalia and affected the entire Upper and Middle Weser region as well as the catchment area of Aller and Leine . In some cases, previously observed maximum water levels were exceeded.
Course of the disaster
Heavy precipitation had already occurred in June 1956. In Lower Saxony, over 300 percent of the long-term average fell in some cases. In the period between July 14 and 16, 1956, there was heavy rain lasting almost 50 hours in the mountainous regions of Lower Saxony, Thuringia, Hesse and East Westphalia and thunderstorms in the lowlands.
These hit soil that was already saturated with water, so that the precipitation only ran off on the surface. Within a very short time there was a dramatic rise in the water level and extensive flooding. By July 16, 1956, the water level of the Weser in Minden rose to 4.50 m above mean water level; shipping on the Upper and Middle Weser came to a complete standstill. In the urban area of Braunschweig , 681 hectares of green and arable land were flooded in the area of the honeycomb and the Mittelriede until July 17th. In Retterode near Hessisch Lichtenau ( Werra-Meißner district ) there was massive water ingress on July 15 in the local lignite mine due to the precipitation, which led to partial drowning of the underground facilities.
On Aller und Leine and in the Hessian mountainous region the situation worsened dramatically after further stormy rains occurred on July 18 and 19, 1956. a. led to dike breaches, river bed relocations and uncontrolled overflow of the Edertalsperre . The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen escaped a severe flood disaster solely because the flood was carried over the overflow sections at Thedinghausen into the Ochtum lowlands to the west of the Hanseatic city. However, this led to major flooding in the former municipalities of Stuhr and Hasbergen .
The resulting worsening of the flood situation on the Mittelweser led to over 240,000 hectares being flooded by July 25th. The property damage caused by the flood was estimated to be over DM 170 million. In the area of Porta Westfalica there is a water level from the state WSA. On July 17, 1956, he reported a so-called extreme value of 1180 m³ / s and 629 cm. Measured against the Weser flood of the century of 2300 m³ / s and 790 cm on February 10, 1946, this is extremely high.
Web links
- Flood of 1956: Website of the Mittelweserverband with historical aerial photos of the flood in July 1956. Retrieved on March 1, 2012.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Friedrich Hamm: Natural History Chronicle of Northwest Germany. Landbuch-Verlag, Hannover 1976, p. 273.
- ↑ City Chronicle Braunschweig . Website of the city of Braunschweig. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ↑ Chronicle of the Voluntary Fire Brigade Harmuthsachsen eV ( Memento of the original from January 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ↑ Friedrich Hamm: Natural History Chronicle of Northwest Germany. Landbuch-Verlag, Hannover 1976, p. 274.
- ↑ Special floods in the Ochtum lowlands in the 19th and 20th centuries in the Stuhr area - biography . Website of the IG flood protection in Stuhr e. V. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ↑ 146. Cabinet meeting on August 8, 1956: TOP 3. Flood damage 1956, BML . Federal Archives website. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
- ↑ Friedrich Hamm: Natural History Chronicle of Northwest Germany. Landbuch-Verlag, Hannover 1976, p. 275.
- ↑ Wetterzentrale: Forum , accessed on March 7, 2011.
