Storm surge chain from autumn 1973
The storm surge chain of autumn 1973 describes a series of storm surges in autumn 1973 on the German North Sea coast. In the period between November 13th and December 14th, there was a previously unobserved accumulation of severe and very severe storm surges. In Hamburg alone a total of 28 storm surges were registered during this period, two of them severe and four of them very severe. In particular, the storm surges of November 16 and 19 and December 6 caused severe damage in the Weser and Elbe regions . In the storm surge of November 13, 1973, a person was killed on the Ochtum .
Hurricane November 13, 1973
Exactly one year after the Quimburga hurricane , another hurricane event occurred in northern Germany that killed at least 25 people. Due to the fact that the railway was moved significantly further north, a very severe storm surge occurred along the entire German North Sea coast, which killed around 100 sheep on the North Frisian island of Nordstrand . There was one dead at the Ochtum. The Danish coaster Balka (299 GRT) stranded on the Knechtsand in the Outer Weser after it had become incapable of maneuvering with a heavy list. The crew was rescued by the Heligoland rescue cruiser Adolph Bermpohl .
Hurricane November 19, 1973
Only six days after the first severe storm surge, a second storm surge occurred along the entire German North Sea coast. During this storm surge, the highest water levels in the storm tide chain were recorded, especially in the East Frisian coastal area and on the Jade. In the lower reaches of the Hunte , Lesum and Ochtum , which were not yet secured by barriers , severe damage occurred to summer dykes and roads as well as the areas in front of the main dykes . On the islands in the Lower Weser and on Krautsand , the buildings on insufficiently high Wurten were flooded for the second time within a week. Dune collapses occurred on the East Frisian Islands and on Sylt. The location on the sea dike in front of the Christianskoog in the Meldorfer Bucht also became critical .
Hurricane December 6, 1973
On December 6th, the penultimate storm surge of the chain from late autumn 1973 occurred, when the highest water levels in the storm tide chain in the Weser region below Brakes and in the Lower Elbe were reached. In Hamburg, this storm surge almost reached the maximum water level of the storm surge of 1962 , although in the city itself there was no storm at all, only it was very windy. Although the dike did not break, there was very serious damage in the flooded port area, where numerous companies were surprised by the unexpectedly high tide. The sea dike in front of Christianskoog, which was not raised after the storm surge in 1962, was again badly damaged and could only be held by a massive deployment of auxiliary workers.
At sea, the anchor chain of the then instructions booklet still in the mouth of the Elbe broke as a result of the storm lightship Elbe II. The lightship was in block hole abeam of Cuxhaven aground and was later rescued there by tugs. The crew was rescued by the rescue boat Rickmer Bock , which is in reserve in Cuxhaven .
The Hamburg motor ship Grete Hauschildt (424 GRT) sank five nautical miles north of the lightship Elbe I after the hatch covers had been smashed in the heavy seas. Despite a dramatic rescue operation, in which the ferry Prince Hamlet and the supertanker Fernhaven were involved in addition to several helicopters , only three of the seven crew members were rescued.
literature
- Johann Kramer: Storm surges. Coastal protection between Ems and Weser. H. Soltau, Norden 1984, ISBN 3-922365-26-4 .
- Karl Lüders: Sturmtidenketten . 1973 annual report of the Norderney Research Center. Vol. 25, 1974.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Worst Storms - A Chronicle In: DIE WELT January 18, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2012
- ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt, November 14, 1973
- ↑ Delmenhorster Kreisblatt dated November 14, 1973
- ^ Delmenhorster Kreisblatt dated November 20, 1973
- ↑ DIE ZEIT, May 3, 1974 No. 19
- ↑ a b Hamburger Abendblatt, December 7, 1973 edition , accessed on August 7, 2019
- ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt, issue 8./9. December 1973, page 7 (PDF), accessed on August 7, 2019